Now that we've acknowledged self-love let's talk about some ways we can love ourselves.

What Do You Love About Yourself?

Name some things you love about yourself. Doesn't matter how big or small. When first doing this all I could come up with were physical attributes, such as,my hair, my smile eyes, my eyebrows even. Then as I continued practicing this I also came up with personality traits, such as, my persistence, my passion, my optimism. Right now, I'm still in the phase of being specific;stating things that pertain to me personally. One thing I did find was that I love the way I love from a distance. I have had a lot of people come and go in my life but my love for them never fades. I can detach myself from that love and love truly even if I may not like or disagree with who the person is or their lifestyle. When I love in this way it has no personal attachments just an understanding for the need of more love in this world.It's a great start but it's the only thing that I came up with so far. It really is a process. In the beginning it's hard, it even sometimes feels nearly impossible to do, but the more do it the easier it will become.

Invest in Yourself

It is also very important to invest time and energy into one's self. This will look different for everyone. For me, I spend alone time with myself by watching YouTube or Netflix or listening to Daniel Caesar while I plan ahead in my bullet journal. I also will take time out to do my nails, my hair or anything that will make me look the way I want to feel on the outside. What is on the inside is important but it's crazy how much the inside can shift the outside and vice versa.It is imperative that I add that investing time and energy is largely referring to hard work, dedication, and discipline for your goals and aspirations. So yeah all that relaxing and pampering alone time is good. But what have you done for yourself to better your life and way of living. This has always been a place that I lacked in. So easy and eager to support and promote others but never giving myself that same respect. Committing to myself and writing these articles is a great example of how I have decided to invest in myself. Giving myself the opportunity to learn the discipline to pursue and accomplish my goals.

Meditation

To maintain this self-love, it is necessary to continuously remind yourself why you love yourself like you would in any relationship and to consistently invest in yourself. Many people will have their opinions and the world is constantly growing and changing as you yourself grows and changes. That is why meditation and/or reflection is key. To grow you must experience and change and listen to the world around you but in that same respect you have to learn and grow while staying true to yourself. So, have some alone time to reflect on your own opinion and beliefs. Learn new things about yourself and throw away what hinders you. Let go of the hate and grasp on to the love. Usually it takes me half an hour if I reflect daily or a whole day if I reflect weekly, it typically depends on my lifestyle and my schedule. Overtime I've learned how important this step is. When I do not reflect I eventually become emotionally and mentally drain and feel terrible.

Consistency is Key

Maintenance is important because insecurities and doubt are all around us trying to block us from our true beauty. You do not put gas in a car once and expect it never to need fuel again. Cars need a constant replenishment of fuel in order to fulfill its purpose. Just as we need a constant love for ourselves to believe, have faith and trust to fulfill our purpose. (Shout out to my friend who is always uses car analogies to give me advice).The consistency part has be my biggest obstacle. Finding the discipline and motivation to continue self-love as a lifestyle and not just a one time thing has been difficult. I've had a lot of relapses and down moments. Every time I fall of I start over. It's never a complete defeat however, I breeze through each step with no issue then get stuck at this part. Lately I've been more consistent, just taking my time and being patient with myself. Self-love is like a road trip. The attractions along the way and the memories made are just as amazing, if not more amazing, as the destination.

Why should others get your good side while you only get your bad side? Be generous, forgiving, caring, understanding and passionate to yourself as well. Just because you love yourself does not mean you love others less. Learn about yourself, rediscover yourself, fall in love with yourself and live life in a way where you can continuously fall in love with yourself each day.