How often do you show yourself appreciation? Chances are, not enough. And when you’re hard on yourself, it can easily lead to more negative thoughts. This, in turn, can impact how you approach your life and relationships and how you see the world around you.
Imagine if that were reversed. Think of going through your day feeling positive, encouraged and ready to face anything.…
You feel confident that you can tackle any problem that comes your way.
You recognize how far you've come.
You celebrate all the steps you've taken to get you where you are – no matter how big or small.
You're grateful for just being you!
Being kind to yourself and appreciating who you are doesn't have to be complicated or overly involved. Often, all it takes are a few simple practices to get you feeling more love towards yourself. Here are a couple of ideas to get you started:
1. Redesign Your Self-Care Routine
When you think of self-care, what comes to mind? Is it a luxurious, hot bath? Or an evening alone, relaxing on the couch? Maybe some extra sleep or meditation?
These are wonderful ways to indulge and care for yourself, but if you leave it at hot baths or massages, you’re missing out.
A lot of times, we limit our self-care to taking care of our physical bodies and reducing stress. But you may want to consider building in a few more intentional self-affirming practices into your daily routine. Here's how that can look:
- Celebrate something you accomplished or how you handled a tense situation.
- Accept genuine compliments and appreciate them when they come your way.
- Cultivate a kinder heart by helping others.
- Thank those around you, and be willing to go the extra mile.
- Reflect on what you’re grateful for in your life.
- Listen to a podcast that’s encouraging and uplifting.
The next time you're preparing for some downtime, look for ways you can weave in some of these acts of appreciation.
2. Check Your Mental Feedback
For many, the biggest battle is what's going on inside our heads. The regular chatter that runs through our minds has a significant impact on how we view ourselves. It helps to take a quick look inside to see what’s going on between your ears.
If you’re finding it’s more negative than positive, here are five affirmations, or mantras, to help quiet the negative and reinforce your positive inner voice:
- I know who I am – and I am enough.
- I choose to fill my life with gratitude and goodness.
- I am confident, strong, and loved.
- I welcome challenges and know I can overcome them.
- I am fully present in all I do.
How you talk to yourself will shape your reality. Using affirmations or mantras, like the ones above, help us to rewire our brains and create new thought patterns that are far more beneficial. The results? A calmer, more confident, positive you.
Pro tip: Sometimes it can be easy to forget and slip back into your old ways of thinking. Consider jotting down a few positive affirmations about yourself. Put them on sticky notes on your bathroom window or as the background on your phone. And then repeat them as often as necessary until they become habit!
Lavish Yourself With Gratitude and Appreciation
The voice inside your head has a significant impact on how you live your life and how you view yourself. With a little practice, you can start changing what your inner voice says about you.
The key is to make these self-affirmations a regular part of your daily routine – and stick with them. Whether it's part of your ongoing self-care routine or a post-it note on your wall, commit to taking steps to appreciate yourself more. It may feel weird at first, but before long, thinking positively about yourself will feel like second nature.
