‘Self-love’ is often spoken about in connection with body confidence. "You know better than anyone else what is good, or bad, for you"ĥ. If your lunch break is time for you to practise self-care, recharge, and reset, let others know it’s non-negotiable that you take it in full. If you need 10 minutes before bed to wind down completely, make sure you get it. Tied in with setting boundaries, ensuring that you value and protect your time is an important step, and one that will mean that you’re able to prioritise the things in your life that you need to foster the healthy, balanced attitude required for self-love.
“You know better than anyone else what is good, or bad, for you – and when you can start to trust yourself, self-love will settle down and you will rely less on the opinions of others, and take on your own decisions.” 4. “‘Does this dress look OK? Is this job going to be enough for me? Is what he said really true?’ These are questions we often ask other people rather than digging deep, listening to ourselves, and accepting what we know is right,” Natalie explains. How can you put a protective barrier around those things? How can you make sure the people in your life don’t cross lines that make you uncomfortable? Make these boundaries clear to others, and stick to them – in time, you’ll begin to understand just how beneficial they can be. Think about the things that really matter to you, as well as what you need in order to live a healthy and happy life. It could be boundaries with your loved ones, at work, with strangers, or even with yourself. “If you can stop comparing yourself to others, and simply work on your life, career, and relationships, that feeling that you aren’t good enough will ease, and you will begin to love who you are just a little bit more.”īoundary-setting is a hugely important step when considering how you want to improve and change elements of your life that are making you unhappy. “Yes, it might look like your family, friends, and colleagues have got their worlds together, but we only see what they want us to see, and there’s a fine line between feelings and facts. “One of the main reasons many people struggle to love and accept themselves is that they are so busy looking at what everyone else is up to,” Natalie says. Here, with the help of life coach Natalie Trice, we’re taking self-love out of the abstract and into eight practical steps that you can use to nurture and grow the relationship that you have with yourself. Self-love is a daily craft that we can constantly hone, and the relationship that we have with ourselves will fluctuate throughout a lifetime. It sounds like a lot to aspire to, particularly if it’s something that you have struggled with in the past – and, honestly, that’s because it is. When you have self-love, you listen to the things that your body is telling you, you understand and respect your own boundaries, you forgive yourself when you mess up, and you know that – even on the hard days – you’re going to have your own back. It’s much the same when it comes to self-love, but instead of spending that energy elsewhere, you shift the focus inwards, to yourself. We have a good idea of what it means to love another person – you care about their wellbeing, you root for them and are invested in their achievements, you value them, celebrate the qualities that make them unique, and are there for them through thick and thin.
It includes twists, turns, hurdles, and challenges – and, above all, it’s going to take time. The road to self-love is rarely straightforward. Follow these eight practical tips for embracing and building self-love