What self-love means to me 💞

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In order to truly and deeply love myself, I must first think of what self-love means to me and how I can give it to myself. Below is a list with some of the ways in which I can give or show me the love I deserve, of course it isn’t a finished one since the self-love journey is a never ending and ever changing process, so in time I may find new ways to shower myself with love. Please feel free to inspire yourself from my list, but I encourage you to make your own, using items from mine if they feel right for you and adding others that are specific only to you or more appropriate to your lifestyle.

- Accepting myself as I am today and not waiting to do that when I’m gonna be a better version of myself since I need to work on some things and grow more in the personal development department. Because guess what? The work on improving myself is not ever gonna stop and the growth process is a lifelong one so, I have to accept me for who I am in the now;

- Forgiving myself for my past mistakes and failures;

- Being unapologetically myself always, and not putting on a mask so people like me, because the most important thing is to like myself and I do that when I’m being me, the most authentic version of myself, regardless of how others might perceive me;
- Putting limits and boundaries for those around and reinforce them when they get crossed;

- Having the hard conversations and being open with the closest people in my life when I feel hurt, unheard or disappointed;
- Letting go of the past and moving forward with the lessons learned, the good memories in mind and a lighter heart;
- Believing in myself, even when others don’t;
- Believing in myself more than others do;
- Celebrating myself for what I have achieved, even the small things;
- Treating myself with kindness when I mess up;
- Having patience with myself when I’m learning new things, going through the growing pains, falling down or taking a few steps backwards;
- Enjoying a movie or my favorite tv shows when I want to, along with some snacks or food, and doing that even when I initially planned on reading or going out, if that’s what I really feel like doing at that time;
- Taking care of my body and loving it exactly how it looks today, no matter what number is shown on the scale or the amount of cellulite I have on my thighs and bum or the size of my clothes;
- Feeling all the emotions when they arise and then release them, instead of storing them inside because this way they can fester, grow bigger and do more damage;
- Listening to my inner voice and my intuition more than other people’s voice;
- Befriending my strong, restless and beautiful mind;

- Asking myself constantly what I need;

- Taking breaks from time to time to recharge myself, when my soul asks for that or my mind needs them;
- Doing on a daily basis a few of the things that make me happy;
- Disconnecting from the world completely, once in a while;

- Going for what I want, with confidence and the belief that I deserve it all;

- Pursuing my dreams, even if I’m afraid, because it’s worth to get through the fear in order to fulfill my heart’s wishes;
- Creating and developing great relationships with a few of the amazing people that Universe is bringing in my life;

- Following my passions;
- Doing everything I can to live the life I’m dreaming about;
- Giving myself the love I deserve and not expecting for someone to come and shower me with their love;
- Going outside often;
- Taking time to ask myself how I’m feeling, where I am on my life’s journey and what can I do for myself in order to be happier;
- Meditating on a daily basis so I can give my overthinking mind a little break, just for a few minutes or even breaths;
- Distancing myself from the people that don’t bring joy, positivity and good feelings into my life;

- Spending time in nature regularly;
- Being disciplined with my morning routine so I can begin the day more prepared for what life has in store for me;
- Lowering my expectations when it comes to other people since is not their job to behave the way I want them to because, they must be themselves and I have to accept them as they are or move away from them if I don’t;
- Moving my body in ways I love to do so and make me feel happy;
- Not compromising my beliefs for someone else and instead, standing strong for I what believe for and distancing myself from the persons that don’t match my most important values;
- Spending time with family and friends;
- Having coping mechanisms at hand to deal with the stressful situations that arise in my life;
- Prioritizing my mental health above all else;
- Enjoying all the foods: the nutritious ones that I need, the ones that I want, the healthier ones, but also the more pleasurable ones;
- Making space in my mind when it’s too full of unwanted or negative thoughts through journaling, daydreaming, focusing on the present moment and the task at hand, removing myself from the external stimuli that don’t do me good, breathing exercises;
- Making time for self-care, for pampering my face and body;
- Being proud of myself for my self-love journey so far, for getting up over and over again after falling down, for always be there for me;
- Buying myself flowers regularly;
- Dancing on the rhythm of my favorite songs;
- Getting the proper rest and having a more disciplined night routine so I can sleep better;
- Relaxing on weekends and after work hours, in order to detach myself and recharge my batteries;
- Not taking things so personally;
- Ordering my favorite foods from the restaurants I love when I crave them;
- Not accepting less than I deserve;

- Getting out of my comfort zone as often as possible;
- Showing compassion and kindness to myself when I feel like life is too hard to handle or I get overwhelmed;
- Surrounding myself with positive, encouraging, open minded, sincere, kind, supporting and loving people;
- Taking time to enjoy the sunrise and the sunset frequently;

- Having moments to just be and not doing anything for at least a few minutes;
- Accepting the things I cannot control and not putting so much resistance because I would like them to be in a different way;
- Stepping out of the victim mentality and changing what I can, doing the best with what I’ve got and moving forward with acceptance when things don’t go my way;

- Trying new things and open up to new experiences;
- Playing with my sweet nephews and enjoying the presence they help me get into and the happiness they bring into my life;
- Giving myself permission to: be human; not do everything on my to do list; fail; change my mind; give up when it no longer feels right for me or I discover it’s not what I like/want/need anymore; having a pause to reassess and see how I really feel; screw things up;
- Letting my rainbow shine brighter and harder when others rain on my parade;
- Doing constantly things that bring me a lot of joy or happiness, not waiting for a vacation to do them;

- Embracing life fully, with good and bad, with hurt and joy, with pain and happiness, with sadness and excitement, with loss and wins, as it is in the now;

- Putting myself and my needs first;
- Being gentle with myself when I need to, but also pushing myself harder when I feel like it or I know that’s what is best for me in the long run;
- Making all my days brighter and not living only for the weekend ones;
- Being present in the moment as much as I can;
- Having self-awareness so I can make changes, adjustments and do better in the future;
- Finding ways to bring more joy into my life;
- Laughing often;

- Ignoring my phone for a few hours so I can dive in a really good book;
- Loving myself completely, with good and bad, and everything in between.

A few of the things above I’m already doing regularly, some of those I want to transform into lifelong habits, a lot of them I’m currently working on. And having this list at hand helps me assess where I am on my self-love journey, where I need to improve and how I can show and give more love to myself.

A few resources to help you on your way to falling in love with yourself:

Books (many thanks to the authors, they have all my gratitude ):

Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It- Kamal Ravikant
Recipes for Self-Love: How to Feel Good in a Patriarchal World- Alison Rachel
The Self-Love Workbook: A Life-Changing Guide to Boost Self-Esteem, Recognize Your Worth and Find Genuine Happiness- Shainna Ali