How to Love Yourself!
Hello, lovely people! It is officially love month! Let me tell you a little bit about me. I’m an Early Childhood Education major, with an elementary add-on. This means that when I graduate from college I will be certified to teach from Preschool to 6th grade. That being said, I spent a LOT of time with little kids. My favorite part? Kids are always so insanely happy. Their happiness is contagious to me! I always feel so refreshed after spending hours with the little ones. People usually will argue, “well, of course kids are happy! They don’t have any responsibilities or hardships”. Ok, sure, maybe. But, I have another theory. I think kids are so happy, because they are unapologetically themselves! Think of when you were a kid! I bet, like me, you probably have plenty of embarrassing memories of things you did then that seem very silly and crazy now. But, is that because you think that? Or is it because you are thinking about how other people would view it? Maybe more than anything in this life, we just need to be more like kids. So, in honor of the little ones, let’s look at some ways to love yourself:
- Don’t compare yourself to other people!
This one is probably one of the biggest ones that I struggle with. Especially, in this age of technology where social media practically centers around highlighting peoples’ “perfect lives”. These are what I like to call “social media lies”. Something important to remember is that people aren’t going to post their bad days on their social media. They aren’t going to tell you about their struggles (well, some people do), they aren’t going to post a picture of their bad hair day, when their face is breaking out, or when they are wearing the same shirt they have worn three other days that week that just doesn’t smell bad yet (no…? just me?). Anyway, the point is, nobody has a perfect life. If I spent half as much time on just loving and improving myself as I did comparing myself to others? My life would be greatly improved off the bat. It can be very difficult. But, you can do it! Remember that you were made to be unique, and an individual. You may look at everyone else and think I wish I had “X” like them, but remember some people are probably looking at you thinking the exact same thing!
- Remember that spoiling yourself is NOT bad!
Yall! Spoil yourself! Sometimes we get so caught up in taking care of other people, or what we need to do for work/school, or all of these other things in life that take up our mind space that we forget that we have to take care of our self too! Or, sometimes, you feel like it is selfish to take care of yourself. Spoiler alert: it isn’t. Take some time to do things or get things that make you HAPPY! When I want to spoil myself, these are some things I do: use my self-tanning lotion, paint my nails, get myself one of my favorite snacks, and curl up on the couch to watch one of my favorite movies/shows. It is also important to make sure that you are spoiling yourself and taking care of yourself even when you don’t feel like it. When you have anxiety, depression, or you’re just feeling pretty down, taking care of yourself/spoiling yourself is usually one of the LAST things you want to do. But, you would be surprised how much that can help with your mood when you’re not feeling your best. It kind of fits with the “fake it ‘til you make it” mentality. It may not be something you want to do, but once you get into it, it almost tricks your brain into thinking that you’re feeling happy enough to spoil yourself. Plus, I mean when you’re surrounding yourself with all of your favorite things how can you not be happy. When you’re happy, you love yourself!
***Important note: remember that this only works towards loving yourself when the “spoiling yourself” is for you. Saying “oh I want to get myself a new outfit because Suzie Q at school posted a picture in a new outfit and my crush liked it so I need a new outfit”. No, no. No. That is not what we’re doing here. If you want to spoil yourself by getting a new outfit because you’ve been wanting these new clothing items and they are something you like and would make YOU happy, then go for it!
- There is a tasteful way to brag, so DO IT!
Another key way to focus on loving yourself is to acknowledge your accomplishments! You are doing some great things in your life, and you deserve credit for that! Keeping all the great things you do all to yourself can make it to where you sometimes only notice the negative things that are going on in your life. Yes, it can definitely feel very weird to “brag” on yourself. I definitely get very nervous about it because I don’t want to come off as conceited. Some of you probably know what I mean. But, as I said, there is a tasteful way to do it! Just make sure that you are not coming off as arrogant or conceited when you brag about it! For example, if you get good grades for the semester in school, just make a post saying something like “Made great grades this semester! Hope I can do it again next semester! Ready to get to work!!!” Guarantee you will get plenty of sweet, encouraging, and complimentary comments about how great you did and that you can do it again! Honestly, it is such a mood booster. It just makes you feel really proud of yourself and THAT IS OK! It is good to feel good about yourself, and be proud of yourself! Don’t let anyone ever tell you any different.
Tip of the week: Try keeping a gratitude log! You can use sticky notes, an agenda, lipstick on a mirror, whatever works for you. Just try to write two or three things down per day that you are grateful for in your life, or grateful for about yourself. This again is going to seem like you are bragging about yourself, but your gratitude log is essentially something for just you. Here is an example of one of mine from this weekend:
- I am grateful for my sorority
- I am grateful for my ability to talk to people easily
- I am grateful for the opportunity to go to college
Anyway, guys that is all I’ve got for this post! I hope this was helpful for you in some way! As always, this page is one that I want to be helpful for you; comment any ideas, questions, concerns, post suggestions, etc. down below! Just click the “leave a comment” button up top; I would love to hear from you! Also, comment any ideas YOU may have about how to love yourself!
XOXO,
Maddie