Seven Habits for Self-Love

Seven Habits for Self-Love

we're going to learn about how to love yourself

seven habits for self-love now let's begin number one respect your boundaries

do you know your limits when you're tired overworked and unmotivated do you have the self-discipline to say no to step away from your work boundaries are difficult to preserve with friends with work and with your bad habits you try to set boundaries but it's easy to let yourself slip imagine you've been working on a big project you've poured hours and hours into your work but no matter what you do the final product just never feels good enough you keep tweaking and analyzing and overthinking your work you doubt and criticize yourself but at some point you just have to stop at some point you have to step back and say you know what I've done enough I did the best I could do but I can't work anymore this is a boundary that you set for yourself it's your responsibility to recognize when you're pushing yourself too hard and thinking too much when you reach your limit it's also your responsibility to give yourself a break that's what it means to love and care for yourself you respect your productivity but you also respect your boundaries you are your own person with your own work ethic and your own limits you may not be able to do as much as someone else they may have larger loftier limits than you do but that doesn't make your boundaries any less important by observing your boundaries you learn to respect and understand what you're capable of and that creates a sense of pride in what you've accomplished set boundaries in every aspect of your life give yourself minimums and maximums and listen to what your mind and your body are telling you and when you feel like enough's enough then forgive yourself and step away from number two trust your instincts your inner self is a powerful force that you ignore far too often some people call the inner self the gut or the voice in your head whatever you call it your inner self is a combination of your instincts your experiences and your core values it's a raw representation of who you are and what you want so most of the time your inner self knows exactly what you need to do but there's a catch your inner self doesn't work unless you put faith in your instincts many people struggle with indecision they procrastinate their choices because they just don't trust themselves to know what's right you may rely on others to make decisions for you all because you don't trust yourself this deep distrust may stem from a deficit of self-confidence and trust which psychologists call self-efficacy if you lack self-efficacy you don't believe in your ability to decide perform or succeed you can do all those things and you can do them well but only if you have faith in yourself like everything on this list self-efficacy doesn't happen overnight it takes a long time to trust yourself just like it takes time to trust another person so get in the habit of using your instincts wear the clothes that jump out at you make small snap decisions empower your inner self and believe in your ability to lead your life number three self-care routines do you have a self-care routine when you hear the phrase self-care you might think of cleaning grooming and morning rituals but a self-care routine are any combination of habits that help you feel calm comfortable and happy in other words it's a ritual that reminds you to enjoy the life you're living these important rituals look different for each and every person for creative types you might feel happiest when you're inspired and free to create you may populate your self-care routine with artistic outlets and introspective silence for people struggling with stress you might rely on on your self-care routine to unravel the tension in your everyday life you may fall back on meditative or relaxing activities to keep your mind at ease there's a self-care routine for everyone each routine is unique to your lifestyle your preferences and your goals it may take a bit of trial and error but over time you'll find a self-care routine that's personal to you number four find your intention what is your intention an intention is different from a goal or a dream your intention gives your actions words and decisions a greater purpose or meaning it's a guiding light that you'll use throughout your entire life because people who live with the intention with purpose and meaning are proud of the life they lead but what does a purpose or intention look like your purpose may be to make the world a better place you might find meaning by helping other people or creating something from nothing whatever your intention is use that intention to understand the direction your life is headed are you choosing to fulfill your intention did you make the world a better place today did you help someone in need or create something new as long as you fulfill your intention you know that every day is valuable and well lived so take a few minutes to set your intention what drives you where do you find meaning it's okay if you don't know for most people their intentions are vague at first it takes time practice and careful reflection to discover what gives your life meaning so don't worry if your intention isn't set in stone your purpose may change dozens of times in your life but as long as you're following your intention you can love the person and the life you've created number five need-based decisions can you control your impulses most people are governed by a rash emotional thinking they make their decisions on the spot and they look back on those decisions with frustration and regret but what does your decision-making have to do with self-love often times we struggle to love ourselves because our identities are clouded by wants wishes and uncontrollable impulses you may feel like you don't know who you are because your decisions aren't really yours to practice self-love prioritize your needs over your wants you may want to buy a bigger tv you may crave an expensive vacation but do you need either of those things by framing your decisions in terms of need you empower yourself to make good choices choices that you can be proud of in the future not only is this good for your bank account it's an important source of personal growth when you make need-based decisions your sense of self becomes stronger you get a better understanding of who you are by carefully analyzing what you need in your life as your sense of self grows your confidence and self-esteem will follow you'll learn to stay true to yourself in difficult moments when others might crumble and give in it all starts with a few good choices suppress your wants vices and negative patterns then look deeper at the things that you need because you may discover a strength you never knew you hadnumber six shrink your world is larger than ever before social media exposes your life to millions of friends fans and critics your devices overwhelm you with alerts stories and updates unrelated to you or your environment wherever you go you're bogged down by the weight of the world a burden too heavy for any one person to carry that burden creates stress insecurity and fear you may compare yourself to people living entirely different lives you may try to impress people that you'll never ever meet your life may be engulfed by this demanding social network you may spend so much time worrying about the outside world you may neglect the life you're living when you start neglecting yourself you forget how to love and appreciate the person that you've become so before you can love yourself you have to pay attention to yourself you have to prioritize yourself and listen to yourself to do that you have to shrink your world you have to make room for yourself in your own life right now the outside world is attacking you from every angle so there isn't much space for yourself to practice self-love take a break from social media spend less time worrying about solving the world's problems and worry about solving your own don't change yourself in fear of what people might say change yourself because you want to grow learn and improve in other words remove the weight of the entire world from your shoulders take a break from the lives of others and focus on the life you're living right now number seven risky opportunities the grass will always be greener if you spend your life waiting for the perfect opportunity, you'll find yourself just standing still because every opportunity has challenges every chance requires risk and every dream demands a leap of faith so if you want to love yourself you must believe in your ability to overcome obstacles you must capitalize on opportunities not because you're certain you'll find success but because you think you can rise to the occasion in your life one person will hold you back more than any other and that person is you most of the time you're the reason you run away you're the reason you make excuses and you grow angry with yourself because you know you could be doing better before you can love yourself you have to become yourself don't be afraid to become the person you want to be empower yourself to do better practice taking risks to seize the next opportunity that comes your way even if it isn't perfect because many opportunities only come once if you don't take advantage of them now you may never have another.