5 Ways to Practice Self-Love and Daily Affirmations

By: Tajiya Holland

You take time out to explore things that bring you joy and relax your body and mind. You spend time in nature, having a spa day, exercising, journaling, etc. Still—something doesn’t feel right.

On occasions, you catch yourself sad or angry but confused as to why, comparing yourself to others, beating yourself up over mistakes made, and neglecting or overworking your body. If this sounds familiar, you may be in dire need of self-love.

Whether you’re in a relationship or single, the most important relationship you can have is the one with yourself. Life inevitably comes with its messes, and at the end of every day, you must be able to rely on yourself. Self-love is a practice that can improve your emotional and mental well-being. It consists of cultivating gratitude, kindness, and acceptance toward yourself. Here are a few ways to practice self-love:

Be present

Take ten minutes to tap into your five senses. What are you seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling, smelling? Are these daily occurrences? Do you have negative or positive connotations with these senses? This exercise metaphorically pauses time and allows you to take a moment to think about what is happening in your life and how it makes you feel. If something feels wrong, that is a sign you should change things up.

Recognize and accept

Know that what you are going through and how you feel in the present is okay. Don’t try to push thoughts and feelings away because they’ll only reappear. Gain clarity by understanding where these feelings are stemming. Knowing this will allow you to address your behaviors as specific issues arise. Recognizing and accepting correlates to taking accountability. Kindly take responsibility for your wrongdoings, and commit to change for the future. Forgive yourself because you now know better.

Set boundaries

Assess what you are willing and not willing to accept. Setting limits and following through on them will encourage your self-esteem. How will you let others speak to you? Set an emotional boundary of not allowing others to speak in a derogatory manner to you. Do not let negative opinions from others affect how you think of yourself. When someone blames their mistakes and ill-mannered actions on you, do not take responsibility for it. How will you spend your time? There’s no reason to waste time being in uncomfortable situations. Set a boundary of prioritizing leisure time with yourself, and if with others, be sure you genuinely want to. Say no to what drains your energy.

Take it easy

You are human, as is everyone else. Life is an experiment, without any of us knowing the result. So don’t be so hard on yourself to get everything right on the first try. Talk to yourself the way you want others to talk to you. Give yourself pep talks and reminders of all that you are, not what you are not. You can celebrate yourself whenever, whether the win is getting out of bed or reaching the top of a mountain.

Be brave and be you

Take time to be vulnerable with yourself. Get to know what’s beneath the surface, all of the quirks and flaws that make you unique. Determine your strengths and share them with the world. Rediscover what makes your heart sing, your purpose, and your worth. Chase the dreams that play on repeat. There are no wrong answers to, “what do you want to be?” Be proud of how far you’ve come and who you are today. Choose yourself, and love yourself unconditionally, always.