Ah, self-love.  It is one of the most popular topics of self-care these days.  Yet, I know how hard it is sometimes to practice genuine self-love.  We are all so busy with our daily lives, it is hard to take a break without something falling behind!

Some of you might be asking why we need self-love.  Well, there are many reasons why we need it in our daily lives.

What is self-love?

Self-love is the practice of caring for ourselves compassionately before tending to others.  It can be difficult to always practice self-love.  For many of us, there are other people in our life (kids, friends, etc) that need attention first.  But self-love is important not only for our mental health, but to our happiness.

If we want to be happy, we have to practice self-love.  Why, you might ask?  Well, if we don’t feel appreciative and grateful for ourselves, then it is hard to find happiness.  Lacking self-love can lead to overall dissatisfaction with life.

Self-love is more than just looking in the mirror and telling yourself “I love you” every day.  It’s about setting boundaries, respecting our limits, and knowing when to take a break.  It’s about recognizing that much like others in our lives, we have needs too. 

Beneficial practices for self-love can lead to more resilience and happiness.  We can actually help ourselves feel better about our lives!  While it might not seem like it, we are responsible for our happiness and how we manage through any situation. 

If you are struggling with self-love, there are a few ways to help overcome the obstacles that you might face.  Daily affirmations is one way to ensure that you are on the right track to healthy and consistent self-love.

Using Daily Affirmations for Promoting Self-Love

Looking in the mirror and telling ourselves “I love you” everyday will work, but only for so long.  Affirmations, when made specific and targeted, can actually improve the promotion of our self-love over time.

Using affirmations can help build our self-confidence over time.  We can actually begin to trust and believe in ourselves more.  Who wouldn’t want to feel empowered and ready to take on the world?

You can use daily affirmations to help focus on your self-love and how you care for yourself.  You can tailor your affirmations to what you need most in life.

For example, if you struggle with feeling good about your appearance, maybe you adopt an affirmation that focuses on one part of your body that you like, every single day.  It would be something as simple as, “I love the way my laugh makes others laugh too”, or even something like, “I love my hair, even when it doesn’t do what I want it to”. 

As time passes on, you will find that it doesn’t feel silly anymore.  In fact, it might begin to even feel good!  I have found that practicing this daily leads to me being excited to start my day.  I begin to actually feel happier because of the self-love affirmations that I am practicing to take care of myself.

There are other ways to practice self-love other than affirmations.  Here are a few of my favorite ways to practice self-love and take some time for myself!

Fun Self-Love Practices for Daily Care

There are so many ways that you can practice self-love in your own life.  One of the easiest and probably most mentioned is to eat nourishing food.  So often we begin to feel bad about ourselves and we don’t even realize that it might be what we eat!  Pick something nourishing and healthy, but most importantly, something that you want to eat.  Taking care of yourself doesn’t have to be about sacrifice!

Another great way to practice self-love is to make sure you move your body.  Dancing is always a great way to let loose and have some fun.  If dancing isn’t your thing, then don’t be afraid to try other activities.  Find something active you love and try to make time in your day for it!

I also enjoy celebrating the little wins.  We often focus so much on the big goals that we fail to see opportunities to celebrate when we do anything remarkable.  It doesn’t matter how big or small, just as long as you feel accomplished and recognize that!

Connecting with people you love is also influential in your self-love practice.  With that being said as well, don’t be afraid to stop communication from stressful sources.  Self-love is all about protecting your needs and anyone who threatens your peace doesn’t have a place in your life.

Affirmation Journals

I have found another great way to practice self-love: affirmation journals.  Journaling is a great way to connect with yourself and take some time to unwind.  I enjoy journaling either in the morning or at night, sometimes both if the day has been rather stressful!

The best way to do it is to just let your mind wander.  Write down what comes to mind and be authentic with it.  In the beginning, it might feel silly.  But you’ll find that practice brings peace and you’ll actually look forward to it after a little while.

Affirmation journals are great additions to your morning or your evening routine.  It is a great way to practice gratitude, reflect, and have something personal that is truly yours.

Self-love affirmations can really benefit from the use of journals.  Keeping a journal gives you a way to connect back with previous thoughts of yours to see the progress of your self-love daily practice. 

When picking out a journal, don’t be afraid to pick something out that is uniquely you!  It is all about your comfort and what makes you feel good.  Whether it is a spiral notebook or a fancier journal you like, it is all about what you want.

Ideas for Affirmations

Many of you might be stumped on what sort of affirmations you can choose from.  Truly, the skies the limit!  You might start out with basic ideas and then branch out as you become more familiar with your practice.

For those who want some ideas, here are sixty self-love affirmations that you can use to start your self-love practice today:

1. I believe in myself and all my dreams
2. I am doing my best and I am proud of myself
3. I am in charge of my happiness
4. I accept my past and love myself for how strong I am
5. I am worthy of great things
6. I love myself for who I am
7. I love how talented I am in my job
8. I love how much I look after my friends and family
9. I love how I can see the bright side of any situation
10. I love how resilient I am
11. I love how I take time for myself every day
12. I am worthy of taking care of myself
13. I am worthy of being healthy and happy
14. I am worthy of being loved by someone who treats me right
15. I am worthy of achieving my dreams
16. I accept that I am in charge of where my life goes
17. I love where my life has taken me so far
18. I am grateful for my friends and family that I can lean on
19. I am learning to believe in myself
20. I am learning to trust myself
21. I am learning to love myself, through and through
22. I am kind
23. I am funny
24. I am beautiful
25. I am courageous
26. I accept my flaws and love that I am imperfect
27. I trust in the universe and in myself
28. I accept change and know good things are coming my way
29. I can overcome any challenge I face
30. I am resilient and an overcomer
31. I can create my dream life
32. I am capable of the promotion at work
33. I can learn and grow no matter what
34. I can always count on myself
35. I can find the lesson in any situation
36. I believe I can do it
37. I believe I am capable of anything
38. I am stronger than I know
39. I am worthy of a great and influential life
40. I am worthy of abundance
41. I am capable of financial freedom
42. I give myself permission to be myself in totality
43. I allow great things to enter my life
44. I allow negative influences not to harm my peace
45. I am confident in myself and my abilities
46. I love how talented I am
47. I trust the universe to always guide me in the right direction
48. I am always on the right path
49. I am grateful for my romantic partner
50. I am grateful to be single at this moment in my life
51. I am grateful for my family
52. Every day is a new opportunity
53. Through every challenge, there is a lesson I can learn
54. I trust that things will come to me in divine timing
55. I am confident in myself and my beliefs
56. I am free to be me
57. I can treat my discomfort and love that I take time to care for myself
58. I honor and respect myself and my boundaries
59. I trust in myself to know my limits and how much I am capable of
60. I choose to surround myself with a healthy environment and with great friends and family members

Conclusion: You can find time for self-love! 

Hopefully these affirmations will be useful to you!  If you’re anything like me, I found a few that I love and was able to use them in my own life. 

These are just some ideas for you to take some time to yourself and work on your happiness.  After all, the most important person to take care of in your life first is you.  Remember: you are worthy of happiness too! 

Comment below which self-love practice you will try or some of the affirmations you have chosen!