Can you guess what one of the biggest types of rebellion is today? Self-love. In a world that constantly tells you that you need to improve or forces you to compare yourself to others, one of the biggest acts of rebellion you can do against it is to love yourself, really love yourself.
And a said benefit of practicing self-love? You become open to healing.
So how do we heal through self-love?
Through practice. Here are our favorite self-loving practices to jump-start your healing.
1. Do not judge yourself
Think of a way you came up short? Felt disappointed in yourself?
Do you then judge yourself for not doing better?
Let that go!
Give yourself grace and compassion. You are only human, so yes you’ve made mistakes before. The great thing is that you have the breath to do better today, and tomorrow, and the next day.
Just repeat to yourself, “It’s okay, I’ll do better next time”.
2. Accept yourself
This doesn’t mean that change cannot be a part of your journey. But it does mean that no matter where you are on that journey, you are enough.
Respect yourself and your journey thus far. You have been through a lot and you are still standing. There is a lot to be proud of in that.
Accept yourself for who you are now so that you can be closer to the person you want to be tomorrow.
3. Require respect from others
One thing that can derail our self-love practices are rude, disrespectful, and unnecessary input from others. This could be in the form of a conversation or just someone who is constantly late to meet you. Let others know how you want to be treated and don’t settle for less. You deserve great relationships that nurture your soul and help you on this journey.
4. Say no
If something does not make you feel happy or elevate your life (aka going to work), don’t do it. Learn to say no to the activities that drain your positivity and yes to things that make your life better.
5. Forgive
Forgive both yourself and others for the pain you or others have caused. This doesn’t mean that the actions were okay, it just means that you are not letting them keep you from becoming a better you.
This can be the hardest step of all. There can be trauma and a lot of hurt behind these actions.
This is where therapy can play a great role to help you come to a place of forgiveness so that you can let the past go to reach a brighter tomorrow.
By taking these steps toward self-love you are bringing more positivity into your life. This attracts positivity into your life. As you learn to better love yourself so you will learn to let go and heal. This is easier said than done but through self-love we can get closer to healing.
Having a hard time with self-love?