We Are Always On A Path to Self Discovery
Do you genuinely know how to love yourself and be happy? Life is a voyage of self-discovery. To me, life is a marvelous gift. But many of us hide from ourselves, and we don’t know who we are. We don’t know what we feel or what we want.
It’s not selfish to love yourself and be happy. The Power that created us and this planet is often referred as love. Self-love releases us so that we can love ourselves and therefore love others.
Self-love is when we accept all of ourselves, our peculiarities, the things we may not do so well, and all of our beautiful qualities. We accept ourselves unconditionally. It is to have a deep appreciation for who we are.
“Find the love you seek by first finding the love within yourself. Learn to rest in that place within you that is your true home.” – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
To love yourself and be happy is a journey. It doesn’t come easily or quickly for most of us. Learning to love, care for, and respect ourselves takes time and dedication. It’s a process that comes with ups and downs. Some days seem flawless, everything works for our good, and then we have some rough days, and we even want to throw in the towel.
After all, many of our negative beliefs and habits are ingrained in us throughout our lives. It will take time and practice to overcome these habits and start treating ourselves with love. However, we can do these simple hacks to get started on the right foot and start feeling better about ourselves today. Check them out:
To Love Yourself And Be Happy Treat Yourself Better
How many of us grew up learning how perfect we are? The truth is most of us we brought up with opposing messages. That there are many things wrong with us. These messages may have come from parents, teachers, friends, or the media. It seems most of us have grown up with the belief that we are not good enough.
So how can we love an imperfect someone? One quick way is to treat ourselves like we would treat a good friend or loved one. If we catch ourselves repeating negative messages or putting ourselves down, take time to consider whether we would talk to someone we care about in such a manner. If not, we definitely shouldn’t be treating ourselves that way. After all, a core component to love ourselves and be happy is self-care.
In her best selling book, You Can Heal Your Life, Louise Hay, shares this exercise:
- Write down all the negative beliefs you have about yourself and identify from where they came from. Identifying where you learned these beliefs is the first step toward realizing that they are just thoughts and are not valid.
- Imagine a three-year-old child. Would you tell this child all those things? We all have a three-year-old inside of us, and if we continually tell ourselves we are not good enough, it becomes repetitive.
To love ourselves and be happy, what if we told ourselves how much we are loved instead of being wrong? Could we start to encourage ourselves and accept ourselves as having value? This one step alone is huge toward self-love.
Caring about ourselves isn’t selfish. It shows that we understand our worth and that we value who we are as a person. Try to take note when you start spouting negative self-talk. Then change it around to something more positive. We must treat ourselves with as much compassion as we would treat a friend.
Understand Our Triggers
Unfortunately, many of us will not love ourselves until we lose weight, get a job, or make the right amount of money. We all have triggers that can elicit a reflexive reaction in us. When you feel irritable, annoyed, hurt, or angry by something, someone says or does, consider why you’re feeling that way. This type of insight and self-awareness can genuinely help us to be more understanding and nurturing with ourselves. It can also provide the knowledge we need to push past those triggers and to feel more at ease.
Look Outside Ourselves
It may sound counterintuitive but looking outside ourselves to help others is a fantastic way to help us feel better. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut and to wallow in our problems. It’s only human to do so. However, we can break out of such negative patterns by proactively looking for ways we can make a difference to someone else. Even the smallest steps can help.
For example, taking time to listen to a friend’s problem can help us feel more connected to them and feel proud that we could be there for them. It can also help to put some of our own life’s issues into perspective.
Embracing self-acceptance and self-love are the actual keys to lasting happiness.
“You’re always with yourself, so you might as well enjoy the company.” – Diane Von Furstenberg
Conclusion
Keep these tips in mind to help you feel better about yourself when you’re in a funk. These simple things can help put us on the fast track to self-love.
It’s time to put aside all those messages that ask us to do anything other than loving ourselves. Focus on building a strong foundation for lasting change. The more we love ourselves, the better we will love others.
I am Shirley Noah, author and an internationally known stress expert and entrepreneur. I would love to connect further with you to help you improve your health and well-being. If you ever feel like you just can’t take this any longer take a look at my popular E-Course Self Care For Health and Happiness.
Disclosure: This email may contain affiliate links. All opinions are always 100% mine and I don’t partner with any product or company that I don’t use and love!
