We’re our own worst critics—it comes with the territory of being human. But we often forget we can be our own best cheerleaders, too. The truth is if you don’t love yourself, you make it hard for others to do it, too. And you know what else? That whole thing about beauty being on the inside? It’s the truth. If we’re not finding or feeling beautiful from within, there’s no serum, moisturizer, or mascara that can do it for us.
Learn to love yourself right now, and for always.
- Accept that you need to do it: The biggest challenge in loving yourself may just be in getting over the hokey aspect of it all. It may sound like new age woo-woo yoga speak, and it certainly is, on some levels. But so what? Just because it’s corny doesn’t mean it’s not the truth. You need to love yourself. Why? Because you have to live with yourself, first and foremost. But you also offer yourself the support system, the companionship, and the tough love only you can give you. Yes it sounds silly but you are truly unique, special, wonderfully brilliant and to be the best you can be, you have to see and love all of who you are. Plus, the world needs you. You are here to participate, to show up, to make it a better place. We need you.
- Trust yourself: Or rather, listen to your body. It’s easy to “trust” our bodies when they’re pushing us to grab another piece of cake or pass out without washing the makeup off of our faces. But when you really listen—observe the signs, signals, behaviors of the body, and whether or not it’s running as best it could, we can better respond to what it actually needs, rather than what it seems to want. “I didn’t just wake up one day understanding how to take care of myself,” Actress Kate Hudson recently told Well+Good. “I had to learn how to do so over time, and I continue to learn—each and every day,” said Hudson. “This is a process, and my body is constantly changing. So is yours. And when I learned how to accept that I will always be like this, I relaxed. Our bodies do not stand still for time.”
- Don’t scrutinize: While I just said you need to listen to your body more, you also need to tune it out just as much! At least, you need to not overexamine every part of it. The closer we look at anything, the more we’re bound to find. And way more than your partner, co-worker, boss, or parent is likely to see. There’s a freedom in just letting go of expectations, of comparisons. And that doesn’t mean you stop washing your hair or eating healthy–quite the opposite. By continuing to live a healthy and balanced life, you’ll find you need to scrutinize yourself less. You won’t worry as much about what others are thinking when you’ve found a rhythm that allows you to be your true and beautiful self.
