We hear about self-love everywhere and we understood that it’s an essential part of our personal development. More than that, it’s the key to happiness. However, learning to love yourself after years of self-criticsm and judgment is no easy job.
I’ve picked 30 of my favorite self-love quotes to inspire you!
If you don’t love yourself who will?
— Naval Ravikant
Dare to love yourself as if you were a rainbow with gold at both ends.
—Aberjhani
Our first and last love is self-love.
— Christian Nestell bovee
Friendship with one’s self is all important, because without it one can not be friends with anyone else in the world.
—Eleanor roosevelt
The journey isn’t about becoming a different person. It’s about loving who you are right now.
—Suzanne Heyn
Whatever you are doing, love yourself for doing it. Whatever you are feeling, love yourself for feeling it.
—Thaddeus Golas
The most powerful relationship you will ever have is the relationship with yourself.
—Steve Maraboli
You are enough. You have nothing to prove to anyone.
—Maya Angelou
You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.
—Buddha
Take care of yourself as though you were the most awesome person you met.
—Jen Sincero
It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.
—Andre Gide
Talk to yourself like someone your love.
—Brene Brown
Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.
—Coco Chanel
She remembered who she was and the game changed.
—Lalah Deliah
If you have the ability to love, love yourself first.
—Charler Bukowski
In a society that profits from your self-doubt, liking yourself is a rebellious act.
—Caroline Cardwell
Be careful how you are talking to yourself because you are listening.
—Lise Hayes
How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you.
—Rupi Kaur
It is not love that should be depicted as bling, but self-love.
—Voltaire
It’s not selfish to love yourself, take care of yourself, and make your happiness a priority. It’s a necessity.
—Mandy Hale
Be the love you never received.
—Rune Lazuli
Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for every relationship that you have.
—Unknown
If your compassion doesn’t include yourself, it is incomplete.
—Jack Kornfield
Document the moments you feel most in love with yourself – what you’re wearing, who you’re around, what you’re doing. Recreate and repeat.
—Warsan Shire
I think the reward for conformity is that everyone likes you except yourself.
—Rita Mae Brown
Love yourself first and everything falls into line.
—Lucille Ball
Love is the great miracle. Loving ourselves works miracles in our lives.
—Louise Hay
You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.
—Buddha
If you aren’t good at loving yourself, 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
You have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.
Does the idea of dating yourself sound weird to you? Well, it shouldn’t. After all, dating someone is nothing more than making time for them, treating them well and spending time getting to know them. All these things that we often forget to do for ourselves – especially as parents.
Everywhere, we hear that we should treat ourselves like we would treat our best friend. So why is the relationship with ourselves the one we usually invest the least in?
If you want to make a change, let me share a few ways to date yourself and make yourself a priority.
1. Overcome the fear of being alone
First things first, if you are planning to date yourself, ideally, you should get rid of your fear of being alone.
Do you have difficulties being on your own? Or maybe it’s doing social activities on your own that scares you? If it makes you too uncomfortable to go out for a whole meal or a movie all by yourself, you could try going for a drink or an ice cream.
Learning to be on your own is crucial if you want to get to know yourself better. Quiet time helps us unwind and check in with ourselves.
2. Get to know yourself
What do you do during the first dates? You spend time getting to know the other person! Strangely enough, discovering who we are is rarely on our priority list.
Set time aside just for you and write a journal about your goals, your dreams, what you are grateful for. Or just sit quietly, check in with yourself and ask yourself questions: What do I want? What do I really like?
Find out your true self. Try new things, listen to your body and follow your heart!
3. Dress up
Have you ever noticed how good it feels to wear clothes you love? If you are willing to spend hours in the bathroom and even buy a new outfit for a date with someone else, there’s no reason not to do it for yourself. Pick an outfit in which you feel good or buy something new, and rock it just for yourself.
4. Treat yourself
Why wait for other people to give you a present? After all, you’re the best person to find the perfect gift for you. Buy yourself something nice to wear, treat yourself to a restaurant you like or invest in that course you’ve been longing to take.
Accept your own gift without guilt and be grateful for being able to treat yourself.
5. Cook yourself a nice meal
Do you know the feeling when you prepare a meal for a person you really appreciate? Well, pick a dish that you really like and prepare it for yourself putting in as much love as if you were treating someone. And don’t hesitate to decorate the table nicely, have some wine and light candles.
6. Pamper yourself
Pampering is such a great way of showing yourself love. Book a massage, go to the spa or have a manicure – anything that will help you relax and take care of yourself at the same time.
Besides, it will be the perfect opportunity to connect with your body. So relax, enjoy, and show yourself that you deserve to be treated well.
7. Learn something new
Learning a new skill is a very special way of dating yourself. Find something you’ve always wanted to learn – not because it would be good for your career or because it would come in handy for the family, but just because you always wanted to do it.
Maybe you are longing to learn to dance Argentinian tango, a new language, photography or how to drive a motorbike. Try it out, it will be a great way to get to know yourself better.
8. Discover a new place
A date with yourself is the perfect opportunity to discover a new place. You could visit a museum, exhibition or event that interests you or go to a concert. Or why not visit a monument or city you’ve been longing to discover?
Dating yourself is a great way of nurturing the most important relationship in your life. Not only will you feel energized and better about yourself, but you’ll soon notice that the way others treat you is closely related to how you treat yourself.
It’s well known that walking has various health benefits. Apart from burning calories, it’s a gentle way to stay fit and has a positive impact on your blood pressure, your heart and even your digestion.
But did you know that a hike through nature or a leisurly stroll through the city can also be great a stress management technique?
Here’s how you can use walking to reduce stress and raise your mood.
Relax
Going for a walk is a great way to relax your mind and body. Even a short walk can be the perfect break when you feel overwhelmed by stress. Sometimes, moving your body – even gently – and breathing some fresh air can already do the trick.
Quiet your thoughts
Whether you opt for a brisk walk around the block or a comfortable stroll, walking can help you clear your thoughts and take some distance.
The only fact that you are mentally and physically moving away from stress has an important impact on your well-being and will help you calm down.
Boost your mood
Like any other type of exercise, walking briskly triggers the release of endorphins, the so-called feel-good hormone. This will not only help you combat stress but also boost your mood and energy levels.
Check in with yourself
Throughout our hectic day, we tend to become unaware of our feelings and mood. Why not take the opportunity of a stroll to check in with yourself? Ask yourself how you feel physically and mentally. Acknowledge your emotions and allow yourself to feel them. Become aware of the thoughts that are crossing your mind.
Connect with nature
Spending time outdoors, especially in nature, is another great way to reap the stress-busting effects of walking.
Obviously, we don’t always have the possibility to walk in nature. However, in most cities, you can opt for a walk through a park, a green area, or along the riverside.
Be mindful
Going for a walk is the perfect opportunity to practice mindfulness. One option is to just enjoy your walk without any distraction and be extremely aware of your surroundings. Pay attention to the details. What do you see? What sounds can you hear? How does the air smell? You could even pick one sense and completely focus on it.
Another interesting way of being mindful is combining meditating and slowly walking. Start by becoming aware of your breathing, feel your feet touching the ground, the air caressing your skin, etc. Or you could try a guided walking meditation like this one from Gaby Bernstein.
“All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
Focus
Some people also like to use walking to focus on something or look for inspiration. Maybe you are stuck on a project and are looking for new ideas? Or you’ve been trying to resolve a problem for a while. A comfortable stroll can help you focus or gain new perspective.
Entertain yourself
Going for a walk can also simply mean taking a break to entertain yourself. Play your favorite album or your latest audiobook, and off you go!
This option can be particularly interesting for people who don’t necessarily enjoy walking. Listening to amazing music or a captivating story will help you go for longer walks.
Meet a friend
Next time you are planning to see a friend, invite them for a walk instead of a coffee (or do both!). You will quickly notice the benefits:
You’ll combine the stress-relieving effects of spending time with someone you appreciate and gentle exercise.
You’ll be fully present with that person without any distractions.
You can discuss light topics that will lift your mood.
Or you can share something that’s been causing you stress or help them deal with difficult situations.
You’ll probably walk more than you would on your own.
“Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.” – Helen Keller
Alone, with a friend or with your family, going for a walk can be done almost anywhere and fit into any schedule. Try to include it into your daily routine and it won’t take long until you see how effeciently walking can help you reduce stress.
Are you looking for your dream job? Or perhaps you are longing to find your soulmate? Or do you just want to find a way to achieve your goals? Then visualization could be the right method for you.
What is visualization?
Visualizing events or situations is a natural process that we use every day: we see ourselves stuck in a traffic jam, we imagine how our job interview will go, or picture ourselves in our dream house. Depending on our beliefs with regards to the situation, our visualization will be more or less positive.
When used consciously, visualization, also referred to as creative visualization, is a technique in which you use your imagination to model your life. Nowadays, numerous people, such as athletes, musicians, entrepreneurs, actors, etc., use the power of visualization to achieve their goals.
How does visualization work?
Even though some people might think this technique is only a hype, science has shown that visualization really works. According to research, the brain doesn’t make a difference between imagining something and actually doing it – the same brain regions are activated in both processes.
Visualization can be used to meet your goals on different levels such as physical, emotional, or spiritual. Even though the technique is called visualization, you don’t necessarily need to see things when imagining them. Depending on your type of memory/imagination, you might see images, sense or feel what you are imagining.
The process of visualization relies on three key elements that will help you set a clear intention:
Desire: What is your goal? What do you wish to achieve? Find out what you truly want.
Feel: Perceive the situation/feeling you are looking for.
Believe: Persuade yourself of the fact that you are truly living what you are picturing. Believe your goal has already been achieved.
What are the benefits of visualization
Now that you know the basics of visualization, you probably wonder why this tool is so powerful.
Motivation
First of all, imagining yourself achieving your goal can have an extremely motivating effect. E.g., if your objective is to buy a house, imagine yourself reading a book while sipping a cocktail in the garden of your dream house. This picture and the associated feeling of satisfaction will be a great help to stick to your goal and keep the momentum.
Preparedness
Picturing a situation/activity over and over again – just like athletes or musicians will imagine themselves performing their run or piece of music – is perceived by our brain like actual practice. E.g., it can be useful to visualize yourself in a stressful situation (exam, interview, confrontation, etc.) so you will be better prepared when the real event occurs.
Confidence
The act of already seeing yourself in a specific situation will also grow your level of confidence. The mental imagery will familiarize you with the process and help you be more confident that things will turn out well and that you can do it.
Focus
Is there any better way to focus on your goals than to visualize them? Not only will the imaginative process help you define your goals but the repetitive practice will also allow you to re-adjust them, if necessary.
Stress reduction
As we will see in the next section, relaxation is key when it comes to effective visualization. The process can be compared with meditative practice. Relaxing and concentrating on your objectives is a great way to combine achieving success and reducing your stress levels.
How to use visualization
Relax
Being in a state of relaxation is key to successfully use visualization. One of the reasons is that it will help you quiet your mind and keep you from worrying.
You can use any method that works for you to relax: meditation, yoga or simply deep breathing.
Not only will you have a clear head to do effective creative visualization, but the regular relaxation exercises will have positive effects on you body and mind.
Be detailed
Using highly detailed imagery is an extremely powerful and effective way to achieve your goals. The more realistic your mental vision will be, the easier it will be for you to believe in it. This does not only apply to the visual aspect. Try to put yourself into the situation you are picturing, with all the feelings, body language, etc. This will allow you to practice the situation in a realistic way and be better prepared.
Practice regularly
Just as any new skill, mastering visualization requires practice – especially at the beginning. The best is to make visualization part of your life. Even a few minutes a day can make a difference.
Also, try to be patient even if you aren’t seeing the desired outcome as soon as you’d like to. We all have (negative) patterns that we have been repeating for years or even decades, it can take time and practice to get rid of them.
Choose the right moment
The best moments to practice visualization are just after waking up and before going to sleep. These are usually times of the day when we are in a more relaxed state of consciousness, which will make visualizing easier. For better results, you can practice both in the morning and before going to sleep.
Adopt a positive mindset
Remember to remain open and flexible. If a vision doesn’t feel right, try another one. Find out what works best for you and keep in mind that there’s no need to force anything. There’s no right or wrong when it comes to visualizing.
Also, it’s important to visualize situations related to positive feelings and images. The purpose of visualization is to motivate and encourage you to move towards your goals.
Use affirmations
Affirmations are a great tool to help you keep a positive mindset and play a key role in visualization. Firstly, creating and writing down your affirmations will allow you to set and define your goals. Secondly, the regular practice of affirmations will help you replace any negative beliefs or blocks you may have regarding a situation with more positive ones.
Enjoy the journey
As explained earlier, your visualizations will be much more effective if you avoid forcing anything. If it doesn’t feel good, it means that you need to re-adjust: try a different approach or re-adjust your goal. The more fun you’ll have with the process, the easier it will be to achieve success.
Creative visualization is an effective technique to fast-track yourself towards your goals and create the life you truly desire. As a bonus, it’s an excellent mindfulness technique that will also improve your mental, emotional, and physical heath.
Here we are again: A new year begins and you are keen on taking a fresh start. You feel motivated and are ready to rock your list of healthy resolutions. Here are five simple new year’s resolutions that will have a positive impact on all aspects of your life.
Practice mindfulness
Practicing mindfulness is one of the best decisions I’ve taken last year. Being more mindful helped me discover and enjoy things in my life I wasn’t even aware I had. Yes, sometimes we spend so much energy looking ahead that we forget to stop and see the beautiful things we already have.
If you are worried about yet another item to add to your busy schedule, you’ll be delighted to hear that mindfulness exercises can take as little as a few minutes. And once you realize the many benefits these techniques can bring into your life, you’ll wonder why you didn’t try it out earlier.
How about consciously deciding to make yourself a priority from now on? Stop neglecting your needs and realize your well-being is just as important as anybody else’s.
Self-care is an invaluable gift to make to yourself and the people around you. If you are struggling to make room for self-care, here are a few tips to help you incorporate i to your daily life as a parent.
If you haven’t decided to do so already, I’d highly recommend you take action to make sure you read more this year. Reading can be easily fit into your daily schedule and, among other things, will help you reduce stress, improve your memory and concentration, and expand your knowledge.
And why not involve your children as well? Make books available, include more reading time into their routine and make reading fun with trips to the library and reading books together.
If you’re keen on improving your reading skills, too, I recommend you familiarize yourself with speed reading techniques.
Boost your personal development
We already discussed the importance of reading and, obviously, this includes personal development books. However, if reading is good, taking action is key.
The new year is a great opportunity to review the past year on the one hand and set intentions for the beginning year on the other hand. What did you learn during the last year? Take time to analyze specific situations, your reactions, and behaviors. Are you observing any patterns? Are you happy with how things went?
