10 Realistic Ways to Love Yourself.

Respect and love for yourself are crucial for success. There are times in life when your only option is to rely and depend on yourself first. In order to love others, you must love yourself. Many teenagers of this generation are more likely to experience depression and many other mental illnesses. This is due to social media and the lack of self-love. Social validation is important to many individuals in my generation. To fit in and to be accepted by others is important to many, however, to accept yourself and your own gifts take courage. This article will show the best and most realistic ways to love and accept yourself for who you are.

Step 1: Hygiene

(“Health and hygiene are a basic personal need for all.” — Manushi Chhillar)

Make sure to take care of your body, Good hygiene can lead to positivity and overall, a clear mind. Take showers, brush your teeth, and wash your hands. Although all of what I have listed is self-explanatory, many people forget to meet their most basic hygiene needs on a daily basis. Having a good skin routine is essential since this can reduce many possible illnesses and overall, keeps your body protected. Having good hygiene can affect your mental health positively. Treat your body like a temple, you’re soon going to see physical and mental changes!

Step 2: Your Social Circle

Your friends are a huge influence on your mindset and behavior, so choose the right people! If your friend’s gossip put you down and/or is toxic, end the relationship. A toxic relationship isn’t worth your time and energy. Get a piece of paper and write down any of your friends who are negative. Once you finish, the people that you wrote down should be cut off. By cutting off negative individuals within your social life, you eliminate negativity from your life which is important to love yourself. Be picky with your friends, your should never beg for love or friendship since that shows weakness and creates more vulnerabilities and it reveals a lot of insecurities that one has among themselves.

Step 3: Gratitude Journaling

Many individuals frown upon journaling since they categorize it as “boring” or “lame”. Individuals who journal more often, often have a healthy mind compared to the rest. Journaling comes in many forms, many of which include gratitude journaling. Gratitude journaling consists of writing down things that you are grateful for, they can be the little things such as your bed that you’re grateful for since it’s comfortable and it allows you to sleep well. Journaling can allow you to clear your mind and express your thoughts on paper. Although you can use an electronic device as a journal, many suggest that you use physical paper or even a book dedicated to journaling. Once I started to do a gratitude journal, I found myself happier and more appreciative of the smallest things which bring me a lot of joy. Gratitude journaling boosts your mood, confidence, and happiness significantly. Take a piece of paper or use a book and write the date and give it a title, most preferably a title called “Gratitude Journaling”. Once you do that, write “I am grateful for” and then write the thing you’re grateful for, it can be a water bottle that your mother gave to you a month ago, it doesn’t matter, if it leads to a positive impact in your life even in the slightest way, write it down.

Step 4: Meditation

We all drink water in order to survive, it’s second nature. Like drinking water and eating, meditation should be second nature as well. Meditation is important for the mind. Meditation allows you to clear your mind and live in the present which is important considering that many of us are overthinkers and we always resort to the past… I highly suggest you meditate for at least 20 minutes a day. Meditation allows you to be in your own world and clearly identify and resolve conflict within the mind. As mentioned earlier, meditation allows you to clear your mind and live in the present which is important. I use an app called Medito for meditation, this app has allowed taught me ways to meditate and clear my mind, so I highly recommend using it!

Step 5: Workout & Keep a Good Diet.

Working out and maintaining a good diet is crucial for self-love since working out can help endorphins kick in that can actually allow you to enjoy the process of working out! A good diet can allow you to have much more effective workouts since a good diet can enhance your workouts and your athletic performance overall. A good diet can also allow you to gain more energy and burn calories while working out. Working out and keeping a good diet can allow you to gain the desired body aesthetic which is important to many individuals and most people who workout. Working out is also good for your mental health since working out can significantly improve your cognitive function and self-esteem which allows many individuals to reduce their anxiety and depression. Working out and a healthy diet can also reduce the risk of many different diseases.

Step 6: Remove Bad Habits and Addictions.

Bad habits such as drinking, drugs, and masturbation can lead to an addiction that can be difficult to quit. Many individuals my age are more likely and vulnerable to these bad habits since our brains are so under-developed and we are influenced by almost anyone. In order to remove a bad habit or addiction, keep yourself busy, give yourself things to do to keep you busy. Many individuals who are suffering from pornography addiction may feel urges to fap, in order to avoid those urges, keeping yourself busy, taking a cold shower, and/or working out can reduce the urges and can allow you to maintain good mental health. When quitting a bad addiction, do it for the lifestyle, not the streak. Many individuals use a certain amount of days they are clean of drugs as a way to show off and to use as a record. Instead of keeping track of how many days you’ve been clean, tell yourself that you have quit and remove the addiction from your life. Journaling may be another solution, write all your thoughts down when you feel an urge. When you feel urges to do certain things that fall into the category of bad habits or addictions, instead of trying to fight the urge, try to understand it, acknowledge it, and know why you feel this way and what is triggering you to feel this way. Once you figure that out, completely avoid it and remove it from your life.

Step 7: Find a Passion! Find Something You Love!

To find a new passion or something you love, you will have to try different things. Take a piece of paper and jot down some things that genuinely interest you and research more about them. Once you’ve done that, simply start doing it! Start by learning more about what you’re interested in and take part in projects. Enhance your knowledge every day! This can allow you to feel more accomplished and more passionate as well as more curious about certain things and not only will you be able to find yourself, but you will also be able to discover new abilities about yourself! You can try programming, the computer science field is massive and accommodates many individuals who are below and over 18, there are endless opportunities in the programming field and you will learn how problem solve and create sophisticated applications that can possibly help the world!

Step 8: Have a Morning Ritual (Routine)

A morning routine can allow you to have a great start to the day! Your morning routine should consist of self-care, exercise, catching up on work, meditation and/or journaling, planning your day ahead, and a good meal. Self-care includes showering or a skin routine, brushing your teeth, and all the basic hygienic activities we partake in on a daily basis. Exercising in the morning is healthy and can boost your mood early morning! Catching up on work can allow many individuals to get a head start on their days and starting work early can allow you to finish early and relax and enjoy! As mentioned above, meditation and journaling are important due to the fact that meditation will allow you to clear your mind and stay in touch with reality and your own thoughts. Journaling or gratitude journaling will boost your mood since you are writing down things that you are grateful for which will boost your confidence! Planning your day ahead and having a good meal is essential since a good meal fuel’s your body for the day. Drinking lots of water is essential since it keeps your body hydrated and can treat a lot of medical conditions such as aches.

Step 9: Quit Procrastination!

Procrastination can be the killer of dreams. In order to truly love yourself, you should not overthink or procrastinate about work that is to be completed. By starting and completing work, you can feel much more happier and confident and you may genuinely have more respect for yourself! When you find yourself procrastinating, you may want to eliminate the use of your devices. Place your device away from your site and out of your reach; maybe place it in another room. Our phones keep us occupied and as a result of our average social media use and use of phones in general, we can develop a short attention span and we get distracted easily. By removing your phone, you get less distracted. Once all your distractions are eliminated, the best way to stop procrastination is by just starting, getting up, and just starting that assignment or task that is supposed to be completed. You’re going to regret not using time as an opportunity to get tasks finished. By removing procrastination from your life, you will feel much more accomplished by the end of the day!

Step 10: Enjoy Your Own Vibe!

This may seem like a simple step yet it can be difficult. In order to love yourself, you must enjoy being around yourself and as cheesy as that sounds, it’s true. How can you even enjoy your own vibe? You can start by taking walks, going places by yourself and just enjoying certain activities by yourself! I started going on walks, trails, and even restaurants alone, and as embarrassing as it might seem, it has affected me in a positive way. Make time for yourself, this will improve your mental health and you will eventually love being alone and enjoy your own vibes! By being alone, you think of many new ideas and things that you may try out and by being alone, you’re more connected to your own thoughts and your inner self. You might also be more productive alone and you will be able to manage more stress when you’re alone as well!

Conclusion.

These 10 steps may allow you to overcome challenges, or even find yourself and your true passion, and most importantly, you would be able to love yourself! These steps would allow you to live a better quality of life as well! I hope these tips genuinely help you!

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