How to Self Love Yourself - Powerful Ways to Embrace You

On Instagram recently, I talked about how my worst fear is to not try but to try and fail. I believe that this is completely messed up but, I am a perfectionist (as much as I try not to be). There is another thing that I have a little trouble with, actually, and that is celebrating my authenticity and individual self-expression. It’s a struggle that I deal with all the time but make a conscious effort to embrace it.

oVertone which is a cruelty-free and vegan hair dye company inspired me to share how I embrace my uniqueness and show off my authentic self. I am sharing my advice and struggle so you have the courage to embrace yourself.

Stop Comparing Yourself

I am the queen of comparing myself to others. It is like there is a default button that comes on and I go into the black hole of I wish I was dot dot dot. We live in this world where we constantly compare ourselves to family, friends, bloggers, influencers, celebrities, that mom down the street and the stranger in the coffee shop who looks like they have their whole lives put together. It’s so hard not to compare ourselves.

Start Loving Yourself

It has taken me years to love myself, which is so strange to say but it is the honest truth. I have never loved myself because I was too busy comparing myself to others. Once I broke down that wall of my own perfection standards, it opened up a whole world of loving what makes me, ME! And I am not talking about an overboard amount of love for myself but a humble and healthy amount of love. As much as we want to be loved by others it’s not that important. The most important love that you need is one from yourself.

For myself, I have started loving who I am as a person right now. A young woman who is constantly coming up with new ideas and making it happen. I love being a dream seeker and the thrill of trying new things that I have always wanted to try. I am not ashamed of that and don’t mind taking a risk to simply try and not live with “what ifs“.

Take a moment to think about it. Do you love yourself? What do you love about yourself?

Accept Mistakes

Constantly thinking about mistakes holds us back. I know because this is true to me, I never forgave myself for mistakes I have done in the past. As if I could change the past. It bothered me when I kept thinking about it and I realized that it was holding me back. Only accepting it, owning it and learning from it allowed me to grow as a person.

Does it still bother me? Sometimes but not a deep as it used to. It’s not an open wound but a scar that is a part of my story. It is not how you fall but how you get up is what I had to remember. Also, forgiving is not for others but for ourselves. It is like you are constantly inhaling, soon enough it gets uncomfortable and annoying. Forgiving is the exhaling release.

Learn from your mistakes. You now know what not to do in situations and what to do. It is your custom guide.

Embrace your Uniqueness

We all have a story. I feel like Oprah from her Masterclass show when I say this but it is completely true. I believe our stories, our lives and our journeys is what makes us unique. It is the fragments of our lives that molds us to be who we are today. The bumps, the hurdles and mountains we overcome give us our unique voice and why we do what we do.

Embrace it! I am a creative individual and it branches off in many different ways and avenues. I love writing, organizing, interior decorating, DIY crafts, weddings, natural living lifestyles, photography and simply creating. I couldn’t find a job that matched me and truly embraced me so I create one for me which now is my full-time job and a website that helps others.

Quit the People Pleasing

There was a time when I was so focused on pleasing everyone that I didn’t even realize that I was neglecting myself. I was on the bottom of my to-do list and for sure wasn’t a priority. Yikes! I helped everyone when I was in school, then when had my son and when I started working, and then my blog. All my time was consumed. Me, myself and I, was never at the top of the list because I was too busy pleasing everyone. I wanted everyone to be happy and that was slowly eating away at me.

So, one day I had enough and put in my imaginary resignation paper and said I am done pleasing everyone. It was too exhausting. I was burnt out. Now, I am not afraid to say when I don’t like something or don’t want to do something. As I kept doing this, I learned more about myself and felt less stressed because there was no pressure anymore. If I was helping someone, it was because I wanted to and not because I felt pressured to. Ultimately being the boss your own life and journey.

Show Off Your Authentic Self

What is your authentic self? I had to Google the best way to explain this because I never really had to think about it. Your authentic self is this: Who are you? What makes you, YOU?

Everything I’ve talked about in this article speaks to this last point. You need to stop comparing yourself, start loving yourself, accept mistakes, embrace your uniqueness, and quit people pleasing to be your authentic self. It breaks the walls and allows you to be your amazing, unique self.

You have to get to know yourself to be your authentic self. This means you need to try new things to sense out what your likes and dislikes are, get out of your comfort zone to live a little, take care of yourself with self-care, love yourself… all of yourself and surround yourself with friends and family who understands you. This is what you need to do in order to be your authentic self. When you do, you will feel free.

Happy Self Love Challenge

With all this talk about getting to know yourself and self-love, I thought why not create a challenge that is perfect for anyone (that’s you) looking to get to know themselves again, embrace their wonderful everything and show off their authentic self. Are you ready to take the challenge? Make sure to hashtag #15HappySelfLove to let us know how you are getting happy and loving yourself!

Final Thoughts

Your uniqueness, your life, your story is what makes you, YOU! I don’t even know you, but I can sense even from here that you, my friend are pretty cool and pretty amazing because you are this one of a kind person. Take a moment to get to know yourself and love yourself. If you’re someone who knows what I am feeling or has ever struggled with trying to live up to perfection or learning about themselves then let me know below!

Have any advice to make mom’s life easier? Comment and tell me below!

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