Are you too hard on yourself? Critical of others? Are you feeling burnt out? If you answered yes to these questions, then it’s time to be reminded of the importance of loving yourself each day. A lack of self-love and compassion leads to low self-esteem, self-critical thinking, negatively comparing yourself to others, depression, anxiety disorders, suppressed thoughts and emotions, and perfectionism. So, let’s look at some of the basic ways you can start to focus on self love.

SLEEP

I’m always talking to my clients about the importance of sleep. The way I like to put it is simply “Consider sleep your most important appointment of the day.”  A solid 7 to 8 hours will help you feel energetic, alert, happier, and make healthier food choices. A good night’s rest will also help to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety if you are prone to either mood. So, I encourage you to spend the next week logging your sleep routine and see if it needs a little tweaking. Making sleep a priority is an excellent way to be mindful of self love.

TAKE A BREAK

When I talk about taking a break, this can apply to making sure you take a six minute break at work when you are feel overwhelmed OR this can refer to taking a few vacation days to reset and refresh.  When was the last time you took your entire lunch break? When was the last time you took a vacation?  If you’ve been depriving yourself of these self-care “time outs”, it’s time to start implementing them in your life.

FORGIVE AND FOCUS ON POSITIVE

You missed a work deadline. You forgot to put the juice in your child’s lunch box. You forgot your friend’s birthday. Ok, so you’re human and you’re going to make mistakes! Sometimes, negative self-talk will result in our internal dialogue sounding something like “I’m so irresponsible” or “I’m a horrible parent.”  When this happens to you, it can be helpful to challenge these negative thoughts by asking oneself “Is there evidence that I’m not irresponsible?” or “Is there evidence that I’m not a horrible parent?” I’m pretty sure you will be able to come up with numerous examples in favor of the positive.  So, if you are being mindful of self love you will forgive yourself for well….BEING HUMAN…and remind yourself of all the many ways that you are kind, considerate, and responsible.

 

So, consider these a good start to focusing on self-love and compassion.  Feel free to email me if you have any “acts of self love” that have worked well for you so far. I’d love to hear from you!