People always told me, and I bet it applies to others as well, “you have to love yourself before anyone else can love you” and “self love is the best love.” It seems almost obvious, people should love themselves, but how? In my personal experience, I did not wake up one morning and decide to love the person who I was, contrarily, in many aspects I did not particularly like the person that I was. If I were able to impact even one person I would be content in doing so, therefore below are some of the things that I have been doing in order to start a self-care journey.

Self-reflection:

In order to begin changing your life, you have to know what it is that you want to change. Though this may seem like a simple step, it is an important one, as you have to have the desire to change an aspect of your life. Whether this be your sleep schedule, skin care, working out and/or more, it is important to know what you want your goal to be, as well as why you want it. For me it was important to understand that the things I wanted to start doing and/or change were for myself, and not for the approval of others. Furthermore, I looked into things that I enjoyed doing that I could possibly do more in order to be content with the way my time was being spent.

Be consistent:

So you’ve decided to start doing things for yourself and/or choose to change something, what now? This is the step that may be the most difficult, yet most important for a journey to start taking care of yourself, you have to be consistent! Depending on what you are looking to start or end, time and the devotion to change is the most important thing. Some changes will be harder than others, but what both have in common is that with time and effort, you will begin to see positive outcomes. Though these may seem to come slow at times, it is so important to stay firm on your goal and know that it takes time. If you don’t, you will break the cycle and the progress you made, and you may never see the results you want.

Be your own cheerleader:

Though it may sound corny, it is so important to not only push yourself, but to also support yourself through the good times as well as the not so good ones. Whether it be saying positive affirmations to begin your day and throughout, or simply taking time out of your day to do something you enjoy, it all comes back to cheering yourself on on your personal journey. No matter what others may think and/or tell you, what you believe is the most important thing. Though it may seem silly at first, and you may not believe the affirmations, it all goes back to consistency. Being kind and reassuring yourself will in time provide a sense of comfort, and will reflect itself through the energy you put out into the world.

Though I am young and may not know a lot about what the future holds, I have been told that it is an advantage to begin a relationship with myself at an early age. I believe this to be true, as I begin to be happier with myself even with the short amount of time in which I have changed habits. I encourage others to begin their journey with self-care and self-love because at the end of the day, the longest relationship one will ever have is with themselves, so it is an important thing to enjoy it.