Finding ways to learn to love yourself is really important - many of us don't value ourselves highly enough, or even like ourselves. Learning to love yourself may be difficult but it is entirely possible. Having a healthy level of self-esteem is essential, and as they say, how can you love someone else if you don't love yourself? So here are some great techniques that teach you how to learn to love yourself …
Finding ways to learn to love yourself means examining yourself and your character. Ask the following question: what do I like about myself? You might have to think hard, as we're not used to identifying positive points about ourselves, but work out what your good points are - they do exist!
Sometimes learning to love yourself requires outside perspective. For this, you need the help of some good friends who know you well and care about you. Ask them what it is that they like about you. They will come up with points that you've probably never even considered, and that should help you feel really good about yourself!
It's unfortunately far too common for people to look at themselves in a negative light. We're not encouraged to have a good self-image, and that needs to change. So adopt a positive view of yourself, leave behind the old habits of criticism, and start being proud of who you are and what you've achieved.
Do you often beat yourself up over mistakes you made in the past? It's human to get things wrong, so stop dwelling on your mistakes. Getting things wrong is how we learn, and nobody goes through life getting it all right first time. Forgive yourself your errors, learn from them, and move on. Discovering how to learn to love yourself means loving everything, even your mistakes.
One of the most important ways to learn to love yourself is to acknowledge that you are not perfect. Nobody can possibly be perfect, so don't aspire to something that's impossible! Accept that you have your flaws, as we all do - it's part of being human.
When people congratulate you on your achievements, do you tend to act as if what you've done is insignificant? If you do, change how you react. Stop treating your achievements as unworthy of praise. Appreciate the compliments, say how pleased you are, and be proud of yourself!
Do you feel that you don't deserve anything good to happen to you? This is because we don't like ourselves, and so think that good things happen to other people. Start believing that you are worth it, and not only will you cultivate a more positive self-image, but good things will start happening to you!
Finally, one of the best ways to learn to love yourself is to start changing old ways of thinking. As I've said, we tend to be very self-critical, in a way that we wouldn't treat other people. So be conscious of the patterns that you've become stuck in, and decide how you're going to change them in a positive way.
We really are our own worst critics sometimes! If you don't believe me, think of some of the messages you give yourself, such as criticising your looks, and then consider if you'd say that to a friend. You most certainly wouldn't! So resolve to boost your opinion of yourself. Make a new twist on the Golden Rule when you're learning to love yourself: treat yourself as kindly as you treat others. Can you recommend any further effective ways to learn to love yourself?
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