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Self-love, seems like a simple thing to do.  But, internally for a lot of people, self-love is overshadowed by self-hate.  Many of us are our own worst critic, meaning we microscopically critique everything that we do; often times from the lens of a negative mindset.  We talk ourselves out of doing what we want to do, because we are so critical of what we think the outcome will be and because of our pessimistic way of thinking we paralyze ourselves into doing absolutely nothing.  When we are confident in ourselves and in our abilities, we can develop self-love.  

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Self-love is loving yourself, in spite of your imperfections.  Self-love is loving yourself, in spite of who does or does not love you.  Self-love is loving yourself, in spite of what you do for a living as well as what you do not have materialistically.  Self-love is looking in the mirror and saying to yourself, I love you.  I love what I see.  I love who I am  and I love who God has created me to be; saying it with conviction and confidence, not arrogance. Self-love is what helps you love others in spite of their imperfections.  It is not always about loving EVERY aspect that makes up, YOU (I don't think any of us love EVERYTHING about ourselves), because we always think that there is room for growth and improvement.  However, do not allow your pessimism and negative thinking, toxify or taint your love for yourself.   If you struggle with learning how to love yourself, below are some helpful tips to get you on the right path to self-love.

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1. Forgive yourself for not always making the best decisions for YOU.

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2. Allow yourself the grace to make mistakes.  The same grace that you give to others who make mistakes too.

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3.  Accept the uniquely, creative YOU; the YOU who God created in His image and likeness.

 

4. Stop overthinking about things you cannot control.

 

5. Look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that you Love yourself, until you actually BELIEVE it.

 

6.  Accept your flaws.  Change what you can change, but ACCEPT what you cannot change.  It is not about how you look on the outside, it is about how you feel on the inside and how you treat people who you have nothing to gain from.

 

7.  Develop a relationship with God.  God is Love.

 

8.  Train your brain to counteract negative thoughts with positive affirmations.

 

9.  Don't believe that you are less than anyone else.  You are enough. 

 

10.  Treat yourself better.  Take better care of yourself, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally.

 

If you learn how to practice these things everyday, you are well on your way to learning how to love yourself.   Trust me, you will feel much better about yourself when you practice Self-Love.

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By Lynnette Clement