Looking After Number One: 5 Ways to Love Yourself

It’s a well-documented fact that being in love is good for us, but what about loving ourselves? Like it or not you’re in a relationship with yourself all your life and just like any good relationship it requires attention and nurturing. While Valentine’s Day may be over, check out our five steps below to keep your love alive:

Keep a success journal. List your accomplishments every day. Review your entries at the end of the week and summarize what this says about you. When your default thinking is negative, this repetitive activity supports positive self-talk by building new neural pathways.
Do something nice for yourself on a regular basis. Buy yourself flowers, book a massage, go to the theatre, or take a vacation. Show yourself how much you appreciate who you are.
Be your own best friend. Talk to yourself the way you’d talk to your best friend. Think about how supportive and empathetic we are with our best friends. Have those encouraging and loving conversations with yourself.
Forgive yourself for your mistakes. You would do that for your best friend. Continually beating yourself up for what you did in the past is not productive. Show compassion and forgiveness.
Understand that failures, mistakes, and set-backs offer valuable lessons. Look for the opportunities to grow professionally and personally from your past, and be mindful going forward of how to use these lessons.

Valentine’s shouldn’t be the only day that we show our appreciation for others and ourselves, make loving yourself a daily habit for your well-being, happiness, and success.