7 SELF LOVE practices that will change your life

"As I began to love myself, I freed myself of anything that is no good for my health - food, people, things, situations & everything that drew me down & away from myself. At first, I called this attitude a healthy egoism.
                        Today, I know it as Love of Oneself."  - Charlie Chaplin

Self-love should not be confused with selfishness. A selfish person is only concerned about his own benefits and they do not help others. That's not what self-love is. To love yourself fully means to be able to understand and to express your truest self. You remember your worth and commit to fulfilling your dreams and passions. You become a complete person and you create your own happiness. You also inspire and uplift others!

Self-love is the most important factor to lead a fulfilling life. Whether you want to be happy, successful or attract love in your life, the journey should start within. It is when you accept yourself fully that you start to enjoy life. It is not possible to love others if you don't love yourself first! It seems such a simple concept but really difficult to practice it in our everyday life!

To love oneself need not require expensive shopping or spending time in the spas as suggested nowadays! Self-pampering isn't bad but it should not be confused with self-love. Furthermore, even if you consider that a spa or a few shoes could make you happy you can't be in the spa forever or probably won't be able to shop every single day!

Self-love, I believe starts with honouring yourself. As a person who had always been hard on myself, I had a lot of difficulty in practising self-love. When I changed my perspective and consciously practised certain habits it really started to change my life. Finally, good things started to happen as I stopped sabotaging myself.  But it's not that you do these practices just for once and hope to change your life in one day! You have to practice them daily and consistently.

The 7 SELF LOVE practices that would change your life are:

1. Spending time alone - Just think of it, how much productive time do you spend with yourself? We are so "busy" with everything and everyone else that we don't actually have a relationship with ourselves! We are continuously absorbing ideas and thoughts of others - the social media, the television and every other device is actually feeding us with unnecessary details of other people! Coming in touch with your own true self would require you to devote a good deal of quality time to yourself. Do a social media detox every now and then. At first, it feels like an impossible mission but trust me it's doable and when you eventually stay "off" from the social media and then you return you'll find that actually nobody missed you and you missed nothing! Other great ways of spending a good time with yourself is by meditating, reading inspiring books, going for a walk and journaling.

2. Be mindful - If you really want to practice self-love you must be 'present' in your own life! Be mindful in every action that you do, from eating your food to brushing your teeth. If you are focused on your own life, you'll observe that even in the most mundane moments, there is something to celebrate, something to be grateful for.

3. Eating healthy - Choosing the right food will not only make your body fit and strong, it would make you mentally happy. This is a basic step towards the path of self-love. If you have a child or a pet at home, do you feed them anything? Wouldn't you want your loved ones to take care of their health and have a healthy lifestyle? Why won't you want that for yourself!

4. Surround yourself with positivity - Yes it is essential to be absorbed in positivity to lead a happy and enriched life. It is said that we are the average of the five people we spend our most time with. It's a fact that if your friends have a positive attitude towards life, you would be infected with that feeling too. The opposite is also true! Choose your friends wisely.

Don't allow negative-minded people to inject their negativity in your subconscious. Stay away from complainers and pessimists. If you are surrounded with toxic people you can change that by choosing new friends or limiting your time with the energy vampires!

This isn't about being insensitive to other people's problems. We all go through tough phases in life but continuously staying with negative people would make you one of them! Personally, reading good books, listening to inspiring podcasts, and doing things you love, are great ways to stay positive.

5. Positive Self-talk - Changing the way you think and talk, would definitely improve your life and strengthen your relationship with yourself. Uttering positive words and sentences in the form of affirmations is a great way to shower yourself with love.

6. Do more things that you love - The easiest way to be happy and feel loved is by doing more of what you love! Just imagine how your life would have been if you always did what you love! At least, do something that you love every week.

Start to play the guitar again or join that art class you always wanted to or meet that good old friend or start that venture! Take an action now about a thing you love! It's never too late, remember you can always make time for things you love!

7. Don't forget to smile - If you want to enjoy life to the fullest, wear your smile wherever you go! Even if it's really a tough phase that you're going through, remember that it too shall pass! Life isn't always fair but it is this one life that we have got. So we must as well enjoy it to the fullest. Forget the past and focus on the present moment. Stop feeling bitter and SMILE. You deserve it!

Article written by Ishita Ganguly
M.SC, B.Ed, MBA