[A collaboration post – all thoughts are my own.]

Learning self-love allows you to experience greater security and happiness.

Since it is how we discovered security and love as children, we tend to look outside of ourselves for love. For our good deeds, we were rewarded. It’s true that you can only find the love you’re looking for within.

Nonetheless, we kept looking for love in other people. As a result, no amount of love from another person will make you wholly satisfied, and you can never feel safe if you don’t have confidence in yourself.

But how can you love and feel more assured?

We try to love ourselves in order to get rid of our limiting beliefs and live lives that truly shine. The answer to everything lies in self-love. You could be kind to yourself and, as a result, improve as a person by engaging in self-love.

Let’s Practice Self Love

Take a break for yourself. Take a few deep breaths, give yourself a little embrace, and start teaching yourself how to love yourself.

Eliminate the idea that you must be perfect

If you’re unsure of how to practice self-love, start by giving up the concept of perfection—in your body, your life, and your intelligence, among other areas. The concept of perfection is unreal, and when it appears on social media, it typically hides severe mental health issues.

Never aim to be perfect. It’s a good thing that nobody is. Nobody really strives for an unrealistic level of perfection; everyone has unique traits and characteristics.

Social expectations offer unrealistic standards

“Comparison is the thief of joy.” – Theodore Roosevelt.

You cannot fairly be compared to anyone else since you are special and unique on this earth. The only person you should compare yourself to is you.

When I turn 30 in three years, people are already asking me when I’ll get married, and my mother has already pushed me to take the civil service exam. I love my job offering translation services and managing my blogs. And because I’m a woman who will soon turn 30 years old, there are a lot of expectations and pressures from those around me.

In high school, everyone expected me to attend a prestigious university and receive a top-notch education. They then anticipate that once I graduate, I’ll land a fantastic career. They then set a standard for women to marry before the age of 25. Someone’s happiness is stolen by those social standards.

Even if you achieve that unachievable level, your hunger for more will never go away since it is built into human nature to constantly be insatiably curious. You’ll feel horrible about yourself and miserable if you compare yourself to that unrealistic ideal. Keep in mind that the more we compare, the more we lose who we are.

Love your body

Your body is a beautiful and wonderful tool for discovery. Your physique wasn’t created just to look good for the rest of the world. You can use it as a tool to achieve all of your life’s goals.

Take good care of your body, like it was your child. All you have is love, and you know that everything is perfect just the way it is. Self-love is all about falling in love with your appearance and with yourself!

Speaking from personal experience, I used to have frequent arguments about acne with my mother. I’ve always felt that having oily, prone-to-acne skin isn’t all that bad. Small acne can be treated with the right stuff, even though it comes and goes occasionally. My mother defines beauty as having clear skin and no acne, and I strongly disagree with her. I love myself the way I am.

We’re told that having the perfect body will make us happy. That kind is one that you are familiar with; it is a commonly digitally enhanced, unreachable beauty standard. No matter how much you exercise, how many beauty products you purchase, or how much plastic surgery you have. Happiness has no home in the body, and thus it cannot exist there.

Self-acceptance is the key to happiness. You need a body to feel secure, be accomplished, and be capable of completing any task you set your mind to. Stop wasting time trying to follow a specific diet type because you can do whatever you want regardless of how your body is structured. Instead, pursue happiness.

Accept that you can’t control everything

You only have control over the things you can change, including your reactions. Similar to the weather, you have no control over the choices or behaviors of other people.

Don’t try to control everything in life; instead, focus on how you react to it. Do the best you can, then raise your hands and say, “It is in the hands of the Gods now,” allowing everything to work itself out rather than trying to control everyone and everything. Everything ends up working out for the best.

Self-Care

We have been socialized to believe that taking care of yourself is selfish, which is what we fear the most. In response, we work really hard to show our goodness to everyone. But your happiness is the price of being “good” in the eyes of society. Instead of trying to be “good,” start taking care of yourself. Happiness = self-love or self-care. Self-care is one of the best ways to practice self-love.

Follow your passion

Do you know what frightens and thrills you at the same time? What you want to do but have convinced yourself won’t work. I always want to work from home because, as an introvert, home is the safest place, and interacting with people exhausts me. That’s why I’m using my skills to find jobs that I could do from home, like a blogger and a translator.

My parents opposed me working from home-based jobs. They want me to be a government servant, and we occasionally argue over that. Life is unpredicted and the idea of self-love is flexible. Although perfecting it can take a lifetime, practice is the key. Be kind to yourself and keep going through difficult times, especially if you’re trying to discover your passion.

Narrow down your circle

Your entire life is influenced by your social circle. Look at the five people you spend the most time with because they form who you are. Are they positive? Loving? Supportive? Or are they rude, offensive, and unfavorable? Do they consider themselves highly?

Remember that you owe no one anything, especially if they are pulling you down. Examples include a negative friend, an insulting partner, or an overbearing relative with strong opinions. They owe you nothing regarding your time. Throw it out, stay away from it, and carry on.

Forgive yourself

Do you remember one or more times you did anything that made you feel bad about yourself, embarrassed, or ashamed? It’s time to put that behind you. Even though you can’t undo what you’ve already done, you can have an impact on what occurs in the future.

Think of it as a learning opportunity, and have faith in your ability to improve. Be as kind to yourself as you would be to someone else if they were flawed.

Be realistic

There is no one on this planet who is happy all the time. Do you understand the reason? We are all humans, after all. We all make mistakes and have complicated feelings, and that’s fine. Embrace your humanity.

By doing it, you can acquire a realistic mindset. Being realistic will help you in your search for self-love because we tend to be excessively harsh on ourselves.

Learning to love yourself and practicing self-love will help your relationship. If you want to build a solid relationship with other people, you must do this. You will surely get better at developing self-love, even though it takes time.

Think about what you’ve previously accomplished, even if you’re under stress. Once you learn how to treat yourself nicely, you will be one step closer to being your best self.

Spark your passion by going for the things you love. Take in your great life, enjoy it, and enjoy who you are.