2018 has already been dubbed “the year of the woman.” We have seen successful movements such as the ‘Me Too’ and ‘Times Up’ campaigns gain massive media attention where women have united together to demonstrate their value and strength. In March, women across the globe unified again to celebrate International Women’s Day, an empowering reminder of how far women have come and the continued efforts to change societal attitudes and gender disparity.
Bed Edwards
However, while this emerging revolution in attitudes towards women and the representations of them in the media is a global movement, it’s an individual matter too. While many women might have found it easy to post an empowering quote on social media and celebrate the collective value of women, appreciating their own success and developing self-confidence does not come as easy to some.
It has been reported that 54% of women aged between 18-40 are unhappy with their bodies, while 62% of teenage girls admit to feeling insecure about theirs. These statistics not only show that problems of self-doubt and insecurity are becoming increasingly common, but that learning to love yourself needs to begin at a young age, before self-esteem issues set in. With this in mind, it has evidently never been more important to restore this lost confidence. Embracing and finding a love for our diversity, uniqueness and talents will allow for tremendous personal growth.
Self-love isn’t just about an overnight fix or telling yourself you’ll be happy when you’ve lost a certain amount of weight or got the pay rise you wanted. There are a number of physical, psychological and emotional steps you can take to loving yourself.
Ben Edwards, life coach, qualified NLP practitioner and motivational speaker, shares some invaluable tips to help you on your journey to self-love and tells you how to give yourself some much-needed self-care.
Take note of the positives
When we’re feeling down and insecure, it’s easy to only focus on the negatives. We tend to be drawn to the things about ourselves that we don’t like and we let these dwell in our minds. Often this means we ignore compliments people give us and don’t take note of our skills. One brilliant way to stop this and start giving ourselves some credit, is to make a list of five things you are good at and add to the list each day. When someone compliments or congratulates you, add it to the list. This will help you to visualise and reflect on the things you should love about yourself.
Unfollow anything that makes you feel negative
It is so easy to get sucked into other’s social media accounts and compare ourselves to other’s lives, it may be that they share a lot of travel photos, seem to have the perfect family or a well-paid job and a big home. Whether the impression these accounts gives you is a reality or not, if they make you feel sad or negative, then it’s time to unfollow them. Comparing yourself to others doesn’t lead to self-love, so making steps to eliminate these feelings is important.
Create a personal road-map
Sometimes not knowing where we are going in life makes us feel unfulfilled and can cause anxiety, which takes our attention away from self-care. Start with a blank sheet of paper and some coloured pens, and write down what you would like to achieve in the next few weeks, then think in terms of months and eventually years. This doesn’t have to be set in stone or a piece of art, but it will help you to see where you are headed.
Get moving
The physical and psychological benefits of exercise make it fundamental to your journey of self-love. Entering a gym or even wearing gym clothes might seem off-putting if you are already feeling bad about yourself. What you need to remember is that exercising is a huge step towards a fitter and healthier you. If you’re a beginner, walking is enough and will allow you to become more active as your confidence builds.
Eat well
Eating food that nourishes and sustains us not only does wonders for our physical health but psychological health too. Of course, it’s okay to treat ourselves and everyone craves something sweet now and again. But if you find that some foods are making you feel lethargic, see if you can reduce them in your diet. Or if you find that you crave sugary drinks but then feel a low after the sugar rush, think about how often you allow yourself these treats. Eating well isn’t an overnight fix but the improvements you will see in your mental function, energy levels and mood all add to your self-car efforts.
These are just a few of the steps that Ben Edwards, life coach, qualified NLP practitioner and motivational speaker, believes can make all the difference on your journey to self-love. To hear more from him we recommend checking out his website - https://be-limitless.co.uk.
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