20 Ways To Cultivate Self-Love

By Maya Ackerman

If you aren’t good at loving youself, you will have a difficult time loving anyone, since
you’ll resent the time and energy you give another person that you aren’t even
giving to yourself. - Barbara De Angelis

Until recently, self-love had a terrible reputation. Today, we know better. We know that we should love ourselves. But how? The concept of self-love is still in its infancy, and it’s not always clear how to do it.

Let’s start from a more familiar place. We all know how to love others. From that, let’s learn how to love ourselves.

When you love someone, …

1. … you stand up for them: STAND UP FOR YOURSELF.

2. … you want them to be happy:  MAKE YOUR HAPPINESS A PRIORITY. 

3. … you believe in them:  BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. 

4. … you want their dreams to come true: PURSUE YOUR DREAMS. 

5. … you want them to express themselves:  EXPRESS YOURSELF. 

6. … you treat them compassionately: PRACTICE SELF-COMPASSION. 

7. … you accept them for who they are: PRACTICE SELF-ACCEPTANCE. 

8. … you care about their needs:  PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR OWN NEEDS. 

9. … you want them to be healthy: TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH. 

10. … you comfort them when they are upset: PRACTICE SELF-SOOTHING. 

11. … you want to be with them:  FIND TIME TO BE ALONE WITH YOURSELF. 

12. … you are patient with them: BE PATIENT WITH YOURSELF .

13. … you forgive them:  FORGIVE YOUR OWN MISTAKES.

14. … you empathize with them:  PRACTICE SELF-EMPATHY. 

15. … you give them compliments: GIVE YOURSELF A COMPLIMENT – NOW! 

16. … you hug them: WRAP YOUR ARMS AROUND YOURSELF  IN A HUG. 

17. … you gaze in their eyes: GAZE IN YOUR OWN EYES IN THE MIRROR. 

18. … you buy them flowers:  BUY YOURSELF FLOWERS. 

19. … you write them love notes: WRITE YOURSELF A LOVE NOTE! 

20. … you take them out on dates: TAKE YOURSELF OUT ON A DATE!

Love yourself, and the world will fall in love with you.