3 ways to cultivate love for yourself

Self-love is the foundation of a happy and fulfilling life. It is the ability to accept yourself as you are, with your strengths and perceived imperfections. It facilitates the ability to treat yourself with kindness and compassion.

Self-love is not selfish; it is a healthy realisation that YOU are your responsibility, your main carer, and your companion in this life.

But how do you generate self-love? It is not something that you can buy or achieve overnight. It is a practise that requires conscious effort daily and requires patience and commitment.

I am going to share with you three simple ways that you can generate love for yourself.

1) Acknowledge what you are grateful for.

Gratitude is the act of appreciating what you have rather than focusing on what you want. Acknowledging and appreciating yourself for all that you have achieved, created, and attracted in your life so far.

Gratitude boosts your mood and shifts your perspective from lacking to abundant. It helps you realise what you cherish and what makes you happy and fulfilled.

What five things are you grateful for right now?

At the end of each day, ask yourself this question:

What have I been grateful for today?

2) Create mantras that support you by changing and interrupting your inner dialogue.

I love mantras. They help you rewire your subconscious mind, and they are an instant interruption to unhelpful chatter in your mind.

I tend to use them when my mindset is stuck or my inner dialogue is negative or unhelpful.

Mantras, or affirmations, are positive statements that you repeat to yourself, either out loud or in your mind.

I create mantras to chant internally to overwrite a stuck or anxious mindset. I see it as my responsibility, as my protector and guide in this world, to support myself and change my internal dialogue when it is not coming from a helpful place. As someone who lives with depression and CPTSD and battles suicide ideation at times, I find this a very powerful tool to stop messages that I know are not my truth but part of my illness.

You can create your own affirmations based on your current needs. What do you need to hear right now? These statements don't have to be true yet or statements that you don't yet believe, but they can be things you hope to feel true someday.

I have a board on Pinterest filled with inspirational words and Mantras that can inspire you to create your own..

3) Meet your needs.

Building self-trust starts with meeting your needs. It starts with acknowledging them, giving voice to them, and prioritising them. We so often get lost in meeting others needs or honouring our commitments to the best of our ability, and the first thing we push aside to make time and energy for that is our own needs.

Self-care is the act of taking care of your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. The key to being proficient in doing this is to listen to what your body, mind, and soul are asking for.

Don’t make it have to scream at you. Learn to hear its whispers.

Don't just do something because it's classified as self-care or because it works for someone else. Take the time to sit and listen to your body and your mind. Hear what it is trying to tell you. This can be done through mediation or sitting with a cuppa and watching the view.

Slow yourself down. Allow your mind to listen rather than chatter.

And there you have 3 simple and manageable first steps in cultivating self love.

Generating self-love is not easy. It takes time, practise, and effort, but it is worth it, I promise you.

By practising gratitude, affirmations, and self-care for yourself as a unique individual, you will gradually develop a more positive relationship with yourself and the world around you.

Thank you for taking this time to explore self-love with me. I hope this blog post has inspired you to love yourself more and given you guidance on how to do just that. If you would like assistance in your journey to self-love, I would be honoured to be your guide and support.

Now it's your turn to put these steps into action.

How will you start cultivating love for yourself today?

What will you do to show yourself some kindness and appreciation?

Tell me one thing you are celebrating about yourself right now.

How will you make self-love a daily habit?

Share your thoughts, hopes, and intentions with me; I’d love to hear them!