I love you. How often, in your lifetime, have you said those words? Hopefully, too many times to count. But now, let me ask, how many times have you said, I love you, to yourself? Yeah, that’s a little different. Today, we are going to discuss 4 ways we can say to ourselves, “I love you”.
First way you can say ‘I love you’, is by forgiving yourself.
Forgive yourself. How can you forgive yourself? Try this. Look in the mirror and say to yourself, “I forgive you for…(and then list 3 things that you forgive yourself for).” An example could be, “Tee, I forgive you for entertaining a relationship that was both toxic and abusive.” This requires a lot of self-reflection, and getting real with yourself. It can be a little hard to dig deep and say your flaws out loud to yourself. But, when you do, it gives you clarity and creates a positive mindset. If looking in the mirror seems a little difficult, you can also try writing it down. Instead of saying or thinking to yourself, ‘I hate that I stayed in a relationship that was so toxic’, you will be saying, “I forgive myself for entertaining such a relationship.’
Second way to say, ‘I love you’ to yourself is to be mindful.
Be mindful. Another way of saying ‘be mindful’ is to ‘be self-aware.’ Do a lot of self-reflection. Keep a journal. I know it sounds super cliche. But, seriously write down what you want in life. Think about this, are your goals, your goals? Or are they goals that have been imposed on you by society or those around you? Start thinking about you. I know being selfish is not a quality that is often put in a good light. But, to self-reflect, to figure out what your goals are, who you are and what you need, you need to be a little selfish. Doing this, gives you clarity.
Third way to say I love you to yourself is by being your biggest support system.
Be your own cheerleader. You can do this by being kind to yourself. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that you’re human and humans make mistakes everyday. So, don’t be so hard on yourself. When you feel that you’ve made a mistake, try to view it as an opportunity, to make better choices next time. See your “mistakes” as a new learning experience. Also, stop comparing yourself to others. Don’t focus on other people’s opinions. Want to know a little secret? People will always have an opinion. And they’re allowed to. But, it’s up to you to value their opinion or not. Instead of saying, ‘I wish I had what he/she has.’ Sit down with yourself and be honest. Write down 5-10 things that you are grateful for. Gratitude helps you to appreciate you and your life more.
Fourth way to say I love you is by practicing self-care.
Take care of your physical self. This may mean to treat yourself sometimes. Get a gift for yourself to celebrate all you accomplished. Maybe, you want to eat a little healthier. So you may start off by eating one healthy snack or meal a day. Or maybe you want to designate one day in the week where you just spend quality time with yourself and reset. Whatever you decide to do, self-care is important! Taking one day of the week to just be with yourself and love yourself with personal care is so essential!
So, let’s start saying I love you to ourselves. Stop saying, ‘I hate myself,’ and start saying, ‘I forgive myself.’ Become more self-aware and start think more about you. Be your biggest supporter. View your mistakes as opportunities. Don’t compare yourself to others. Stop saying, ‘I wish,’ and start saying, ‘I am grateful for.’ And finally, take care of yourself. Spend some quality time with yourself. Doing all these things, will make saying ‘I love you’, to yourself much easier.
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Shine Bright 