Although you may have many wonderful souls in your life who you love with all your heart, the odds are, you’re withholding that love from the person who needs it most. You.
In this article, you’ll discover what self-love actually is, why self-love is important and how to practice self-love through an easy self-love ritual you can use today.
What Is Self-Love?
Self-love is all about being at peace with yourself and who you really are. Self-love can be summed up through the 3 A’s: Acceptance, Appreciation, and Adoration.
Self-love also means knowing your worth and putting yourself first. It’s about always tending to your needs and showing yourself that you care about your mind, body, and spirit.
We are taught from an early age that love has to be earned and that there has to be a reason to celebrate ourselves. But unlike conditional-self-liking, self-love is free of conditions and judgment. If you truly love yourself, you do so because of who you are, not because of what you’ve done, achieved, or proven to the world.
To love yourself is to truly liberate yourself from expectations and the addiction to validation. In this article, you’ll discover how to practice self-love in 4 easy steps via your own personalized self-love ritual.
Why Is Self-Love Important?
Self-love’s importance goes way beyond personal growth fads and Instagram selfies. It’s only when you truly love yourself that you can make healthy choices, have a high quality of life, and forge deep, meaningful relationships.
It’s like RuPaul famously asked. “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?”
Whatsmore, the relationship you have with yourself is the only one that’s guaranteed to last till the day you die. So it makes sense to tend to it.
After all, how do you expect to lead a happy life if you’re unhappy with yourself?
Your levels of self-love won’t just benefit your life, either, but all the lives you touch. Through discovering how to practice self-love and care, you actively choose to put yourself first so you can show up in the world as the most balanced, healthy, loving, and authentic version of yourself. And that’s contagious.
It’s the only way you can properly help and support others, too. When you give to yourself, you have more of yourself to give to others. It’s like Mindvalley author, Lisa Nichols always says, “your job is to fill your own cup, so it overflows. Then you can serve others, joyfully, from your saucer.”
How To Practice Self-Love: 7 Examples
Here are seven examples of how to practice self-love and self-care:
…there are countless ways to take care of yourself. Read on to find out how to create your own self-love ritual and self-care routine.
Create Your Self-Love Routine: 4 Steps
Your self-love ritual and care routine will be totally unique to you depending on your daily schedule. No matter what it looks like, learning how to practice self-love will be one of the best decisions you ever make.
Grab a pen and paper and go through the following four steps to plan how to practice self-love. For each step, pick at least one self-love practice. By the end of the exercise, you should have at least four acts of self-love to get practicing every single day.
Step 1: Care for your body in the morning
Your self-love routine should begin as soon as you wake up in the morning. It will set you up for an awesome day.
Journal about your positive intentions for the upcoming day
Step 2: Meditate one self-acceptance and forgiveness on your lunch break
Whether you have an hour or a couple of minutes to spare on your lunch break, it’s the perfect time to practice a self-love ritual.
One of the biggest obstacles we have between us and self-love is self-acceptance and forgiveness. A great way to slowly chip away at that obstacle is via meditation. Don’t underestimate the power of your mind.
Choose at least one of the following:
Sit down for a couple of minutes and repeat the mantra silently in your head ‘I love, accept and forgive myself’
Take out a pocket mirror and practice looking at yourself with kindness as you breathe slowly and deeply (this one can be challenging, but the results are worth it)
Follow a specific guided meditation for self acceptance and forgiveness on the free Omvana meditation app
Step 3: Show yourself love throughout the day
Sometimes it’s the little gestures you practice throughout the day that make the biggest difference to your self-esteem.
Sure, grand acts of self-love such as taking yourself on a retreat and going on a huge self-care-inspired spending spree are great, but it’s those small daily self-love rituals that will permanently rewire your psyche for self-love.
Choose at least one of the following:
Keep hydrated and take plenty of mindful breaks with a cup of your favorite tea
Smile at yourself every time you pass a mirror
When people give you compliments, say ‘thank you’ and accept them fully
Set an alarm on your phone to go off every hour to remind you to think of one thing you like about yourself
Be selective about who you give your energy to, and always save some for yourself
Say ‘no’ when you need to, and set healthy boundaries
Take a few minutes in the afternoon for a 10-minute power nap or meditation (see link below for a beautiful 10-minute inner smile meditation)
Step 4: Spend some time reading and studying self-love before you sleep
Finally, just before you go to bed (after a nice hot bath or shower, perhaps?) we recommend cuddling up in bed for gentle reading, watching, or studying time. That way, you can use your newfound knowledge the very next day when you wake up.
Self-love and care is a journey, not a destination, so it always pays to top up your knowledge on the subject.
Explore the mind shifts, daily habits, and empowering beliefs that lead you towards extraordinary self-love and authentic self-expression in this free Masterclass with Mindvalley co-founders Kristina Mänd-Lakhiani.Reserve My Free Spot Now
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Amy White is the senior editor of Mindvalley with a track record of over 100 personal growth articles and published books collectively. When she's not writing, she's probably in a downward-facing dog chanting Om Shanti.