Let’s talk about self-love

I am excited to introduce you all to the blog’s first guest writer, Munyasha Mutsambiwa. In this post, he discusses SELF-LOVE, something we have to master if we truly desire to live happy lives. I found it helpful, and I am confident that you will too. So, let’s talk about self-love. 

Written by: Munyasha Mutsambiwa

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” ~ Dr Seuss. 

Self-love is a mainstream term today that gets thrown around in typical discussion: “You need to cherish yourself more.” “Why not love yourself?” “In the event that you just adored yourself, this wouldn’t have happened to you.” “You can’t cherish someone else until you love yourself first.” These are only a couple of the self-love orders we give or will propose an approach to additionally living satisfaction.

But what really is self-love? Is it something you can acquire through a beauty makeover or a new set of clothes? Tragically the response to this is no. Despite the fact that it will feel better and satisfying, you can’t fill in self-love through this. 

Self-love implies having a high respect for your own prosperity and bliss. It implies dealing with your own necessities and not giving up your well-being to satisfy others. Self-love implies not settling for less than you deserve. 

Self-love isn’t just a condition of feeling good. It’s a condition of valuation for oneself that develops from activities that help our physical, mental and otherworldly development. It is dynamic; it develops through activities that develop us. At the point when we act in manners that extend self-love in us, we start to acknowledge much better our shortcomings just as our qualities, have less need to clarify away our deficiencies, have empathy for ourselves as people battling to discover individual importance, are more focused in our life reason and values, and anticipate living satisfaction through our own endeavours.

How does one grow in self-love? I will use Bianca as an example. (Bianca is just an ordinary city girl struggling with appreciating herself) therefore, she decides to go for some therapy. After opening up to the specialist about how she feels about herself, Bianca gets a prescription for self-love.
What did the prescription say? 

1. Consciously Consume (Be Mindful)

When you take care of yourself, not only does the love for yourself grow but your self-esteem, self-confidence, and energy also grow. Start by being very aware and mindful of what you consume, not only in relation to food/drink, but also in what you use in your life in relation to friendships and relationships, your “ news feed”, your social life and every other important areas that mean something to you. It is necessary to surround yourself with positivity. One way in which you can do this is by unfollowing social media accounts which make you feel bad about yourself (Be Inspired..!!). Be in control of what you expose yourself to and set healthy boundaries when you need to.

2. Practice good personal care

When I say personal care, do whatever makes you happy. You love yourself more when you take good care of your basic needs. People with self-esteem nurture themselves daily through healthy activities such as healthy eating, exercise, good sleep, and healthy social interactions. Self-care should nourish your entire self. It should tap into the mental, emotional, physical as well as spiritual aspects that make up who you are. 

3. Engage in something you like doing

Doing everything you love is like an immediate boost in self-confidence. It really allows you to express YOUR creativity in a position of originality, love and happiness. Self-confidence and self-love go hand in hand, thus, get caught up in a hobby you’re good at and this will increase your endorphins and your best and beautiful YOU will come out. More so, doing what you love has added benefits for example, it can help you ease your stress, lift your mood, and expand your social circle.

4. Protect Yourself

Protect yourself from all the negativities around. Incorporate the right people into your life. We should love the word “frenemy” , I mean, it describes very well the type of friends who rejoice in your pain and loss rather than your happiness and success. GET RID OF THEM! You will love and respect yourself more. You should not waste your time with people who extinguish the glow you have.

5. Self-Forgiveness

How many times do we obsess over our past mistakes? We are constantly clinging to a lot of things from our past, things that have hurt us and caused us pain, grief and trauma. Hanging on to these “old emotions” and experiences is really energy draining thus causing low self-esteem and even leading to physical ailments and discomfort. Letting go is simply saying “I want to love myself so much that I don’t let anyone else’s actions take up much time, space and energy in my mind, body and soul.”

6. Listing what you adore about yourself

I believe it is an easy task to list 7 things you don’t like about yourself, but how difficult is it when asked what you like about yourself? It is really strange how it works. So I encourage you to list everything you love about yourself and write it all down. This will enable you to realise and reflect on your amazing qualities and characteristics. Make your list today and keep it daily where you can see it as it helps you see your value, build confidence and self-esteem.