How to Accept and Love Yourself

Many people lack self-love. This can happen as a result of traumatic experiences, relationships or abuse. Self-doubt, low self-esteem and depression are some of the negative feelings a person may feel about themselves. They might feel like they are failing at life or not living up to certain expectations. These negative feelings often do more harm than good and can keep a person back from making progress to have a better life. To combat these emotions, accepting and loving yourself is essential.

If you struggle to love yourself try practicing some of the following:

1. Acknowledge and embrace your strengths – maybe you’re a math whiz or you’re good with building things and producing art. Embrace and appreciate the qualities or talents that you excel in. Be proud of your accomplishments. You can also choose to improve upon your strengths and even expand and learn more about them.
2. Avoid negative thoughts – Reducing negative thoughts and focusing on the positive can help you to be less harsh on yourself. We are our worst critics. Shift negative thoughts into lessons learnt and how you can do better or solve your problems. Look at the bright side of things and practice gratitude and be thankful for the good things in life.
3. Don’t worry about what others think – Relying too much on other people for praise and validation can cause a lot of stress and low self-esteem. Graciously accept comments but do not let them bring you down. Remember that you are building a life for yourself and not for others.
4. Set goals and work towards them – set goals for yourself. Embark on a new project. Start an exercise regime. Work on starting a small business. Set goals that you feel will improve your quality of life and work on them step by step. Having goals give you something to look forward to and gives you a sense of accomplishment.
5. Be kind to yourself – We are often kind to others but neglect being kind to ourselves. Treat yourself kindly by taking care of your health, standing up for yourself and doing things to improve yourself and your home.
6. Don’t compare yourself to others – Not everyone is the same or can have the same opportunities. Social media can be very misleading. It only shows part of the story. Don’t compare yourself to other people because it seems like they are living their best life or have everything they could dream about. Focus on what’s real and in front of you.
7. Ask for help – If you struggle a lot with self-acceptance, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Talk to a friend, a therapist or someone you trust. Ask for advice on how to improve areas of your life or ideas on solving problems.

Self-love and acceptance are things that everyone should work on. It’s all about becoming the best version of yourself. Truly accepting yourself gives you the power to unlock your fullest potential to be successful and happy in life!