10 Ways To Love Yourself Now

Happy Valentine’s Day! Is it just me or did that almost sound like screeching? Unfortunately, Valentine’s Day tends to invoke insecurities rather than the tv & movie style romances. This is partially due…to the tv & movie style romances. While wonderful and sometimes relatable, they’re so often obvious, unsophisticated and petty. During this “holiday”, single people feel like they’re alone and should be with someone while coupled people are wondering why the magic they should feel isn’t there or short-lived. Nonetheless, everyone’s got their game face on. Not to burst anyone’s bubble, ok to burst anyone’s bubble…many relationships aren’t working because – dun deh dah dah – they aren’t working. Everyone’s scared. Scared to be alone, scared to face the truth, scared to face themselves, scared to be uncomfortable, scared to deal with their own failures, scared to figure out what to do if they weren’t exactly where they are, scared to risk with someone they really love because they’re so sure it won’t last so they play it safe. And they’re stuck. We’re stuck. And it is scary. But isn’t it just a little scarier to let your whole life pass wondering what if? So where can we start? Make a choice. Start with you.

10 Ways To Love Yourself Now


1) Positive affirmations.
Recite them to yourself in the mirror – morning and night. (Good or bad) Habits are formed after 21 days. Start a good one today.

“Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning.” – Maya Angelou
“A thought, even a possibility, can shatter and transform us” - Friedrich Nietzsche
“You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result” – Mahatma Gandhi


2) Fall in love – with yourself.
List your positive qualities and/or some nice things you’ve done for others. In third person, write a letter expressing gratitude for these qualities and acts. Mail this letter to yourself. It will be a nice change of pace amongst the bills; it might even make you smile.

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” - Buddha
“You get treated in life the way you teach people to treat you.” – Wayne Dyer
“My imperfections and failures are as much a blessing from God as my successes and my talents and I lay them both at his feet.” – Mahatma Gandhi


3) Relax your mind.
Go for a long walk. Get a massage. Do something to pamper yourself. You deserve it.

“All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking” - Friedrich Nietzsche
“Thoughts are the shadows of our feelings - always darker, emptier and simpler.” Friedrich Nietzsche
“To enjoy life, we must touch much of it lightly” – Voltaire


4) Make a date night with some friends.
Choose a restaurant you like or plan to stay in and cook up your favorite meal. Dress up, use accessories, spray perfume or cologne, drink wine, laugh, be silly and take pictures.

“Friends are God's way of apologizing to us for our families.”
“You’ll never again be as young as you are in this moment.”
“It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

5) Write out your 5 year plan.
Dig deep into your soul. Where do you want to see yourself in 5 years? What would you have to do each year, month, week, day to get there? Be specific. Write it down. Put together a vision board. You can do it.

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” – Maya Angelou
“Fortune favors the bold.” - Virgil


6) Make a difference.
You have a lot to offer. Find a way to express your goodwill. Sometimes it’s as easy as being a good listener. Reach out to a friend that may be going through a rough patch, volunteer - at a nursing home, a big brother/big sister organization, or a soup kitchen. Explore the many ways you can help others.

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Mahatma Gandhi
“Every man is guilty of all the good he didn't do” – Voltaire
“Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.” – Buddha


7) Forgive yourself.
Acknowledge your mistakes, take responsibility, and gently forgive yourself. Be tender, patient and loving.  Practice positive self talk.

“Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.” – Buddha
“To understand everything is to forgive everything” – Buddha
"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars." – Kahlil Gibran


8) Practice Self Love.
(If you don’t already have one) Use a removable showerhead and get accustomed with the different settings to find out what pressures work best for you ;-) Play sensual music.  Figure out what you like to feel.  Find your pleasure.  Perfect it.

“Self-love is the instrument of our preservation.” – Voltaire
“To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others” – Buddha
“Anything you really want, you can attain, if you really go after it.” – Wayne Dyer


9) Enjoy your own company.
To be of value to others, first learn to be happy by yourself. Go out, go shopping, have a meal, watch a movie, check out a museum, read, explore your thoughts, work on a hobby.

“We must be our own before we can be another's.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“The only way to have a friend is to be one.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” – Buddha


10) Keep a Journal and Pray.
Be honest with yourself about your thoughts and feelings. There is no good or bad. Write them down. Reflect. Practice introspection. Hope.  Humble yourself.  Pray for your soul and the souls around you.

“By ignorance we mistake, and by mistakes we learn” – Proverb
“Begin to see yourself as a soul with a body rather than a body with a soul.” – Wayne Dyer
“Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.” – Mahatma Gandhi


What ways to love yourself can you add to the list?