Self-love has transformative powers. When you love yourself you make decisions based on that love. Self-love has the power to heal, to protect and to strengthen your spirit. Below, I’ll give you some examples of this, and how you can start loving yourself and what that will bring to you.
What is Self-Love?
Self-love is not about the ego. It’s not superficial and though it’s not just self-care, they work hand and hand.
The Oxford Dictionary describes self-love as this: Regard for one’s own well-being and happiness (chiefly considered as a desirable rather than narcissistic characteristic).
Loving yourself truly, means treating yourself as you would treat anyone you love and respect and want the best for. This means, loving through your actions and decisions. It also means protecting yourself by creating solid boundaries.
Being Kind to Yourself is Essential
Being kind to yourself means more than allowing rewards when you feel you’ve done well, or acts of self-care like taking time to be alone with your thoughts. This also means forgiving yourself for past mistakes. It means not judging yourself harshly when you’re not at your best.
Being kind to yourself as an act of self-love means trusting yourself to do the right thing, and listening to your higher self to guide you.
Practicing Self-Love as a Habit
It takes time to learn to love yourself. But putting in the work, without being hard on yourself if you’re not perfect is part of the practice of self-love. You can get into the healing and empowering habit of self-love by:
- Speaking kindly to, and encouraging yourself
- Trusting your gut instincts
- Protecting yourself by setting boundaries
- Taking time for self-care and reflection
- Fueling your body with healthy food, rest, and enjoyable activities
With time you’ll learn that practicing self-love is not something you have to do, but something you want to do because you honor your wellbeing.
How All of This is Transformative and Empowering
When you learn to love yourself, you become your own best protector and advocate. This is freeing and empowering. You come to trust yourself and your instincts. The self-awareness brought to you by all of your reflection gives you confidence in your abilities.
Practicing and learning to love yourself means putting yourself first sometimes, and establishing boundaries with others. This gives you the time and energy to focus on your goals and dreams. It allows you to know what is best for you, which means you make better decisions.
All this together brings strength and growth and healing from past hurts as you learn you are capable and worthy of the good things that arrive in your life.
If you feel you would like to explore yourself more deeply to find that transformative power within yourself, please feel free to reach out and see how I can help you grow in self-love.