Don’t Forget to Love Yourself
By: Stephanie Yiap
Tags: Self Care, Love Yourself, Psychology, Life Lessons, Self Love

On a daily basis, filled with endless to-do lists, appointments to attend, piles of work to catch up on, chores to complete, family to care for — we tend to forget on slowing down. We want to get everything done as soon as possible thinking we could finally relax after but what we don’t realised is: we missed out on the little things. We missed out on taking care of ourselves because we’ve been so busy taking care of others. We forgot that we too, matter.

And we wonder why we’re constantly exhausted. We wonder why we never get a good night sleep even when we get in bed at 9 pm. Those puffy dark circles never seem to go away no matter how many eye masks or eye cream we apply.

It’s time to take a step back from caring for others full-time. It’s time to take the step to care for yourself. To shower yourself with the love you’ve been giving others. It’s time to be gentle and to pat yourself on your shoulders. It’s time to feel proud of your daily accomplishments.

Here are the simple things you could do:

Your daily you — think of the people you love and respect. You give them space, time and opportunity. You forgive them for their mistakes. Now, think about you. How are you treating yourself? Do you give yourself the love and respect that you give others? Do you take care of your mind, body and your needs?

There are ways you can show your body and mind self-love on a daily basis:

Healthy eating habit

Giving yourself time and space

Getting a good sleep

Exercise regularly

Thanking yourself and those around you

Avoiding toxic influences

Reflecting and meditating

Loving yourself is a state of mind — you have to show yourself that you love you.

2. Exercise — this is especially beneficial for our mind and body. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), there’s usually mood enhancing effect about 5 minutes after you start workout. When done consistently, it can help reduce long-term feelings of anxiety and depression, in turn, can help you maintain good self-confidence.

3. Surround yourself with positive people — this is important. We’re all influenced by who we spend most of our time with. If your friends are uplifting and positive, you’ll begin to feel better about yourself as well.

4. Start a journal — the #1 obvious reason I’m here, sharing this with you. If you could write down your thoughts and feelings, you can refer back at a later date to reflect on yourself. You’ll be able to look at your progress and how far you’ve come. You’ll find ways to get rid of negative experiences and feelings that aren’t necessary, so you can focus on the good.

5. Do something every day that makes you happy — life is too short. Invest in the activities that you really care about. A good life is about making good decisions every day to do something that makes you heart beat — caring for yourself by doing things you care about. It’s a matter of realising there’s nothing selfish about caring for yourself.

6. Loosen up and don’t take everything seriously — laugh it off when things don’t go as planned. Taking everything too seriously will end up stressing yourself mentally and emotionally. “All self-misery has its roots in self-pity, and all self-pity is rooted in taking life too seriously.”

7. Go out of your way to be loving and kind to others — “What goes around, comes back around”. Almost everything comes in full circle. People who love themselves come across as caring, generous and kind to others too. They express their confidence through humility, forgiveness and inclusiveness. Seek to understand others before you judge. And be thankful for the rude as a reminder of how not to be.

The bottom line is: people will come and go. Events will come and go. The sun will rise and set. But a true love for yourself will forever remain.