Dear Friends,
Are you one of those people who
have a hard time loving yourself? If so, you are not alone. Loving yourself is
an ongoing journey. It takes an awareness and practice. You can do it!
Here are some tips for you
to practice self love.
1. Practice receiving
love
To truly love is to be able to receive it. When someone
loves you, does some kind deeds to you, say kind words, give you gifts, or give
you compliments, embrace it. Allow yourself to feel the love that has come your
way. Know that you are worthy of love. It is important to accept a gift of love
by others. You give yourself a chance to learn more about yourself that you are
lovable. You give someone a joy of giving by loving you. Another important way
is to practice receiving love by saying “I love you” to yourself. Let that love
fill your heart. Receive that love that you give to yourself
unconditionally.
2. Practice saying “no”
It is
o.k. to say “no” to people when you do not feel like doing something. Do not
feel guilty about it. Realize that you have the right to do so. This is
different from doing things out of love. If you do things out of love and your
heart wants to do them, that is a different story. What I am talking about here
is when your heart does not want to do it and you feel like you have to please
someone, and make others happy by over extending yourself. Learning how to say
“no” is an art. It takes practice. You might say “Thank you for asking. I am not
ready to commit to doing anything right now.” You cannot please everyone. When
you say “no”, remember to smile sincerely and say “no” gracefully.
3. Do what you love
Find the time to do what you love. Experience love, joy, and happiness in your heart. When you do what you love, you allow yourself to express your true self. As you express your true self in everything you do, your love radiate. When you let your Light and Love shine, you attract more LOVE.
4. Treat yourself like treating your very best
friend
How do you treat your very best friend? Do you treat
him/her with love, kindness, trust, appreciation, acceptance, and respect? If
you can give that to your friend, why don’t you give that to yourself? Practice
treating yourself like you treat your very best friend by saying kind words to
yourself. Stop calling yourself names. Stop beating yourself up. Forgive
yourself. Give yourself compliments. Know your boundaries and listen deeply to
your needs. Treat yourself kindly, gently, and lovingly like you treat your very
best friend.
5. Forgive
Forgive
yourself for all the mistakes, regrets, shames, and everything. Leave the
past behind and be present with your new day. Today is your day. It is time to
move forward. Just do it.
6. Nurture
yourself
Self care is very important. Set up some time to be by
yourself, just by yourself. Do something that gives you peace, love, and joy
with yourself. You can nurture yourself physically, emotionally, mentally, and
spiritually.
Physical
*Go to a gym, yoga class,
take a walk, play tennis, or any kind of exercise that you love to do
*Go to
a dance class if you love to dance
*Take a nap when you want and need
to
*Get a massage
*Consume healthy food that is good for your body.
Realize that you do this because you love you. Take very good care of you.
If you don’t, who will?
Emotional
*Feel good
about yourself. Look at yourself in the mirror, smile, and say “I love you. I am
love, loving, and lovable.”
*Listen to your favorite music
*Acknowledge
your accomplishment each day even it is a small thing
*Look at the sunrise
each morning
*Pet your dog or cat
*Water your plants
*Call or e-mail
your friends and share your feelings with them
*Wear your favorite
clothes
*Do whatever makes you feel good about
yourself
Mental
*Read your favorite
books
*Write your daily journal about dreams
*Write your to do
list
*Write your gratitude list
*Make a list of your short and long term
goals
*Track your goals
*Make a list of things that you want to improve
about your life, love, and
relationships
Spiritual
*Meditate or
contemplate
*Be centered with your higher self
*Connect with
nature
7. Stop comparing yourself to
others
Everyone on this earth is unique. We all have different
gifts. When you compare yourself to others, it makes you feel bad about
yourself. When you compare yourself to others for what they have, whether it is
a car, a house, a mate, children, money, or a job, it makes you feel low self
esteem, lose your confidence, and perhaps depressed, envy or jealous. A way to
stop comparing yourself to others is by focusing on your own strength. Get to
know yourself and discover what is your greatest gift that you are meant to
share with the world.
Another great way is by practicing gratitude. Be
happy for what you have. Really be grateful about everything that you have;
people in your life, job, relationships, material, etc. Gratitude keeps your
heart open to love. No one is quite like you. Just be you. Be grateful for being
the wonderful you. Do the best you can. Be the best you can and love yourself
more. Then, you have more love to give to others.
8. Stop trying
to be perfect
Here is a quote from a dear friend of mine:
“Excellence I can achieve. Perfection is God’s business”. Stop criticizing
yourself for being less than perfect. Always do your best. But, not reaching
perfection is not failure.
9. Change your self
talk
“Change your Self-Talk and you will change your programs.
Change your programs and you will change your life.”
~Dr. Shad
Helmstetter
Have you ever watched your thoughts on how you talk to
yourself? Is it negative or positive? If you have been talking to yourself
negatively, you can change it by changing your programs. You can change your
self-talk by changing your programs that have been stored in your brain since
you were born. A great way that I would recommend is to listen to self-talk cds.
It works for many people. It worked for me and it changed my life in an amazing,
profound, and incredible way.
There are 3 books by Dr. Helmstetter that I
highly recommend.
1. What To Say When You Talk to Your Self.
2. Who
Are You Really And What Do You Want?
3. The Gift
To learn more about
Self Talk, please visit www.selftalkstore.com.
If those books and cds can
change my life and many people’s lives, it can change yours!
When you
love yourself, you have more love to give. You become more attractive. As a
result, you attract more love into your life when you are love, loving, and
lovable.
With Love,
Pichaya
