10 Simple Tips to Start Your Self-Love Journey

Self love is something that is so unique to every individual, and so special and important. It is something I never really understood until this year. I always saw it as face marks and eating healthy. While those are both examples of self love, truly loving yourself goes much deeper than doing a face mask when you are stressed or treating yourself to a salad when you do not feel amazing. To me, self love is taking time to better myself and showing your mind and body that they matter. Let me share with you a few of the major changes I made this year that really kickstarted my self love journey. Please keep in mine that I am only beginning, but we all have to start somewhere.

1. See a therapist

My therapist, Rose, is one of the most insightful women I have ever met. She knows exactly what to say and recommends methods of mindfulness, books, and strategies I can impliment into my life. She is the third therapist I have seen, and while I liked the other two, they don't compare to Rose. She is the perfect therapist for me, so I recommend if you have had a bad experience with one to look for another. No two are the same and a good therapist can make a huge impact on your life. I hope to break the stigma and encourage you to talk about therapy of you are going through it. Once I opened up to my friends about my visits with Rose, almost all of them told me about the therapist they see. It is a very common practice for one main reason, it is impactful. If you take nothing else away from this post, I want you to feel safe searching for a therapist and expressing your feelings to an outside source.

2. Meditation

Before you skim past this, I promise meditation is not just for hippies and yogis. I am one of the most impatient people I know, and I am able to sit for a 10 minute meditation. I linked one of my favorites, but it does include Chakras (which I have been very interested in lately). If you don't like this one, search for another guided meditation.

3. Understanding the law of Attraction

I can (and plan on) writing another blog post on the law of attraction, but the basic idea is that the energy you put into the world is the energy that comes back to you. By exerting a positive energy, good things will come back to you. So by practicing self love and love of others, love will come back to you. More than a way to work on self love, this is additional inspiration. While being kind to yourself should be enough motivation, understanding how putting love into the universe brings love back to you is an interesting concept and can help you remember than you are doing a good thing for yourself.

4. Journaling

Yes, kind of like writing in a diary, journaling is good for so much more than looking back on how you felt in a certain moment in time. It is an amazing way to express our feelings without sharing them out loud. If you are going through a personal issue, a journal is almost like a therapist. I notice that when i start writing my hand moves faster than my brain and I find myself writing down things I never thought about before. It helps me to uncover how I really feel and find the deeper meaning in a situation.

Along with writing your feelings I recommend writing lists. I make lists of things I am grateful for, as practicing gratitude truly helps increase self love. I also make lists of things I am good at, what makes me unique, and things I love about myself. It is so important to recognize your strengths.

5. Reading

Reading self help books is one thing I love to do. it is amazing to get a greater perspective on self love ideas. I am currently reading "You Are A Badass" by Jen Sincero, and while I haven't finished it yet, I have loved every moment so far. She gives many reasons to love yourself including "because its the Holy Grail of happiness" and "love yourself and life becomes a party" to name a few.

6. Clean your social media feed

For me it was instagram that left a sour taste in my mouth. I was following models and other accounts that were paid, photoshopped, and made me feel bad about myself. I unfollowed them and followed a few positive quote accounts. Some of my favorites are @morganharpernichols @feminist @mindsetofgreatness and @rainbowsalt and maybe follow me while your at it ;) @gracie.meets.globe

7. Listen to Podcasts

Podcasts can be so inspiring and motivational. Some of my favorites are "Think and Thin" and "Kalyn's Coffee Talks" because they both make me feel inspired and wanting to better myself. If you are busy like me, Podcasts are great because you can listen while you are getting ready, working out, cleaning, and driving. They are an amazing way to multitask and better yourself while doing chores that need to be done.

8. Spend time alone

Weather it be going on a drive, walking your dog (I know your not completely alone but still), take yourself on a date, anything you are doing to better yourself and show yourself you care is important. By taking time alone, you can really think and tell yourself how much you appreciate you.

9. Find a workout you enjoy

I know this one is so much easier said than done, but working out is such an amazing way to tell your body thank you. It shows your body that you care and that you are taking time for yourself. For me, I love pilates classes, Zumba, barre, cycle, and yoga. Any kind of workout class that doesn't include running is perfect for me. Zumba and cycle are great ways to get cardio where pilates and barre are great for strength. Yoga is good for relaxation of the mind and body. Find a workout buddy or go on your own, but find a way to have fun and thank your body for the hard work it does for you every day.

10. Do things that make you happy

I know this sounds obvious, but show yourself how much you love you. For me, I allow myself a hot coffee every morning, even though I know caffeine isn't great for you. It is something I love and I am not going to restrict myself from the things I love. I also make sure to spend time with friends and prioritize myself over anything else. Yes, if you have huge exam don't go out the night before, but also don't spend every Friday night studying when you could be having fun with friends. Creating a balance is so important, and make sure you schedule in time to do things for you.

I hope this has helped you start your journey to self love. Remember that everyone is different and everyones journey is different. Don't beat yourself up if you aren't there yet, i'm not either. It is a long journey, but a rewarding one. If you want to know more about my self love journey, subscribe to my blog. See you soon!

xoxo,

Gracie

P.S. all of the images came from the instagram account @morganharpernichols go check her out because she has so many amazing self love quotes.