Tips For Improving your self-love

I struggled with loving who I was for years. Once I started focusing on myself, I started prioritizing what I needed to be happy, and a lot of that came with the tips and practices I provide below.

What do you think of when you hear self-love?

There is so much meaning behind that compound word. I will provide you with tips and practices to love yourself even more than you do now.

My self-love journey.

I grew up in a small town and was a minority, so I always compared myself to most people in my community. I didn't see myself as being different as a good thing in high school. With that, I didn't respect myself mentally, physically, and emotionally. I let my traumas consume me, and others' negativity brought me down. Going into college, I started to respect myself more, but I still had negative people linked to me. As much as I thought of it as friendly, I finally realized that these negative people were only dragging me down with them.

Around my Junior year of college, I started to put myself first. I didn't lower my standards, and I focused on how I wanted to be treated. I did this by surrounding myself with positive and encouraging friends.

I am now at a place where I have removed all the negative people from my life and set boundaries with people closest to me. There is always room to improve, and I continue to evaluate my self-love and implement positive practices to be the best ME.

Free Self-Love

As much as going to get a massage or paying for a facial is self-love, I want to leave you with tips to grow and love yourself more without spending money.

1. Remove Toxic Relationships

Removing people from your life may be one of the hardest parts, but END IT. You will thank yourself later. You want to surround yourself with people who encourage you and want to see you WIN. Trust me; you will know the difference between the negative and positive people in your life.

2. Make "You" Time

We get so busy with our lives and put others before ourselves. Carve time out of your day for you, whether that is 30 minutes or an hour. Creating your time might mean waking up before your family gets up or scheduled time before bed. Use this time to relax your mind or do what you love.

3. Take Care of Your Body

Your body provides the functioning organs for you to live on earth. It is a part of you, so cherish it. Make sure you are eating food that gives your mind and body the nutrition it needs to function.

4. Grow With the Mirror

Learn your body and grow to love it. Talk to yourself in the mirror every day and say positive affirmations. These are affirmation I have been saying to myself in the mirror for two weeks now:

I am enough

I love my body

I am strong

I am perfect the way I am

I don't listen to my negative thoughts

I am sexy

I am grateful

I love me!

Try this everyday day for a month and see your transformation. Every morning, I do this before I get ready for the day and have seen an increase in loving my natural face and body every day.

5. Learn to say NO.

We can't do it all. Remember that saying no is not bad. If someone makes you feel bad for saying no to a favor, that person is negative, and you should end that relationship.

6. Let Go of The Past & Forgive Yourself

I struggled with this one the most. We are not perfect, and all make mistakes, but do not punish yourself for them forever. Forgive yourself for your mistakes and embarrassments. Remember to let go of people from your past; they were there to help teach you lessons and help you grow to understand what you need and don't need.

Forgive the people who have treated you wrong. Most of the time, they are not happy with themselves and wanted you to feel their pain. Even if they never apologize, forgive them by letting them stay in the past and take that experience as a lesson.

7. STOP Comparing

Do not compare yourself to others. Focus on your path and goals; take time to learn more about yourself and who you are. My approach is different from yours and yours from others around you.

8. DO NOT Lower your standard

Make sure you set standards for yourself and the people you welcome into your life. If they are not on the same level, you don't have to let them in. Growing up, I had set standards for who I want to marry, people who say that standards were too high, and I would never find someone who would match them. I am here to tell you I found that person, and you can too.

There are approximately 8 billion people in this world, and someone will meet your standards. Remember, it is okay to be alone; you learn how to love yourself when you put all of your time and focus on yourself.

9. Celebrate You

Applaud yourself for winning, whether they are big or small. Society teaches us to get that next promotion, be the best at what you do, or ace that next exam. Once we achieve these successes, we are looking and moving to the next best goal. Remember to celebrate your wins and reflect on the hard work you put into that win. Celebrating makes you appreciate yourself and reminds you that you can achieve anything you put your mind and effort to.

10. SMILE

First off, you are the only YOU in this world. Just take a moment to let that sink in. There is no one else in the world with the same genetic make-up, personality, and functioning body as YOU.

Smile because you are beautiful and a wonderful human being, and smiling relieves stress.

I hope these tips and practices help you learn more about yourself and improve your self-love.

Yours Truly,

Kenzie