Please love yourself

How to Love Yourself: 22 Simple Ideas

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People-pleasing is a losing battle. When you focus on self-love and self-compassion rather than trying to get others to love you, you build your self-esteem and break codependent patterns so you can form healthier, happier relationships—with yourself and others.

Loving yourself can be one of the hardest, yet most important things you’ll ever do.

What does it mean to love yourself? And how do you actually love yourself?

For various reasons, many of us find it easier to love others than to love ourselves. Sometimes we’re truly quite awful to ourselves. We subject ourselves to a harsh inner critic, unhealthy relationships, toxic substances, and self-mutilation. I know how easy it is to dwell on your own perceived inadequacies.

But regardless of the reasons for your lack of self-love, it’s time to start caring for yourself and treating yourself with the same love that you give to others.

Loving yourself isn’t selfish, as many fear. Not only does it improve your relationship with yourself, but it shows others how to love you.

You are the one person that you’ll always be with. So, it’s important that you enjoy your own company, can trust yourself, and recognize your good qualities.

Your relationship with yourself is the most important and longest relationship you’ll ever have. It’s worth spending the time and effort to develop a more loving relationship with yourself.

Below, is my list of 22 ways to love yourself. Many are simple and straight-forward. Some are harder. You don’t have to use all of these ideas, but you’ll find many overlap and work nicely together.

22 Ways to love yourself

1. Know yourself. It’s impossible to love yourself if you don’t even know who you are. Invest in discovering what you believe, value, and like.

Read more about getting to know yourself: 26 Questions to Help You Know Yourself Better.

2. Say “no” when you need to. Boundaries are an essential form of self-care because they let others know that you deserve and expect respect.

Read more about setting boundaries: 10 Tips for Healthy Boundaries.

3. Don’t compare yourself to others. Others aren’t better or worse, more or less than you; They’re just different. You have value just as you are and accepting yourself means there’s no need for comparisons.

Read more about avoiding comparisons: Stop Comparing Yourself to Others: 3 Tips for Letting Go.

4. Be truly present. Our lives are full of distractions. Many of these things are fun and worthwhile, but they can be draining and keep us from truly knowing and being ourselves.

Read more about mindfulness: Mindfulness: A Tool for Self-Acceptance.

5. Know and use your strengths. We all have tremendous gifts, but many of them go unnoticed. When you’re busy and distracted it’s hard to access these great qualities. Focusing on your strengths will increase your positive feelings for yourself.

6. Give yourself a treat. A treat is something special that you just give yourself. Unlike a reward, it doesn’t have to be earned. Be good to yourself by giving yourself treats “just because”.

7. Be honest with yourself. This one can be harder than it seems. Some of us as so good at self-deception that we don’t even know we’re doing it. Honesty is key in all relationships and your relationship with yourself is no different.

Clearly, you can’t love your entire messy self if you’re lying, minimizing, or making excuses. True self-love means taking responsibility and accountability.

Read more: Learning to Trust Yourself Again.

8. Let yourself off the hook for your mistakes and imperfections. You’re hard on yourself. You’re probably harder on yourself than anybody else. Cut yourself some slack and embrace your humanness. Mistakes are normal. Imperfections are part of what makes you, you.

Read more: Seeking Self-Forgiveness.

9. Work on forgiving yourself for the bigger stuff. Sometimes we’re holding onto bigger regrets or transgressions. Self-forgiveness is a process of bit by bit believing you truly did the best you could.

Today you could do better, of course. Hindsight really is 20/20, which is why it’s completely unfair to judge your past self with the knowledge you have now. Remember: “When we know better we do better”.

10. Accept that some people won’t like you. That’s right, some people don’t like you and that’s O.K. Don’t waste your time trying to please people who are impossible to please or people who just aren’t that important to you.

Being yourself means you have to give up your people-pleasing ways and embrace your authentic self.

Read more about people-pleasing: The Problem with People-Pleasing.

11. Make fun a priority. Put something fun on your agenda every week. Don’t neglect it or cancel because you have too much work to do or your kiddo needs help with his history report. Just like rest, we all need fun in order to feel good. Don’t skimp on this important need.

Read more: Discover What’s Fun for You (and Why It Matters).

12. Practice gratitude. Gratitude is one of the simplest ways to focus on the good in yourself and in your life. Try identifying 3 things you’re grateful for when you wake up every morning.

You can try using these gratitude journal prompts to get started.

13. Write down your successes. I love this self-love activity because it creates a record of your accomplishments (big and small) that you can re-read whenever you’re feeling low. Add to it and read your list on a daily basis for maximum benefit.

14. Feel your feelings. Our feelings are an integral part of who we are. You can’t be an authentic person without acknowledging and feeling all of your feelings.

Don’t shy away from uncomfortable feelings like anger and sadness. If you deny them, you deny a part of yourself. Allow yourself to express them in a healthy, respectful way.

Read more about feeling your feelings or watch the short video below.

15. Take good care of your body. Good health is truly priceless. Give yourself the gift of feeling physically well – exercise regularly, eat healthfully, drink water, get 7-8 hours of sleep most nights, and limit alcohol or other drugs.

16. Pursue a hobby. Hobbies can be fun, relaxing, challenging, creative, athletic, social, or educational. As you can see, different hobbies meet different needs for us. Find something that meets your needs.

17. Stand up for yourself. Like boundaries, being assertive is a way of showing others that your opinions and needs matter. Loving yourself means you know your value and can communicate it to others.

18. Write yourself a love letter. I know this is a hard assignment, but it really challenges you to identify the things you like about yourself.

19. Ask for help when you need it. Another part of taking care of yourself is recognizing when you need help. Help isn’t weak. It’s human. We all need help at times.

20. Speak kindly to yourself. Talk to yourself like you’d talk to a loved one. Don’t cut yourself down, call yourself names, or criticize yourself.

Read more about being kinder to yourself in this article: Stop Blaming Yourself for Everything.

21. Surround yourself with people who treat you with kindness and respect. Who you spend time with reflects how you feel about yourself. People who feel worthy surround themselves with positive people. Sometimes loving yourself means you have to end relationships with abusive or unkind people.

22. Allow yourself some downtime. Are you busy, busy, busy? It’s time to slow down and allow your body and mind to rest. You don’t have to do it all. Prioritize what matters most and let go of any guilt you might have about saying no. Rest is rejuvenating and a basic form of self-care.

To learn more, read my tips for people who struggle to prioritize self-care.

Which of these ideas will you try? I recommend starting with the activities that seem easiest to you. (It’s important to set yourself up for success when you start something new.)

Practice one or two self-love activities for a week or two and then try one of the more challenging ways to yourself. You can build your repertoire of self-love activities over time.

And as you practice and build them into your routine, they will feel more natural and won’t take as much thought or effort.

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22 Ways to Love Yourself

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The Self-Love Guided Journal

I created the Self-Love Guided Journal to help you rediscover who you are, accept yourself – imperfections and all, and learn to treat yourself with kindness. It includes reflective questions, journal prompts, inspirational quotes, and a healing meditation to help you develop positive thoughts and feelings about yourself. Find out more by clicking HERE.

Sharon Martin

Sharon Martin is a psychotherapist, writer, speaker, and media contributor on emotional health and relationships. She specializes in helping people uncover their inherent worth and learn to accept themselves -- imperfections and all! Sharon writes a popular blog called Conquering Codependency for Psychology Today and is the author of The CBT Workbook for Perfectionism: Evidence-Based Skills to Help You Let Go of Self-Criticism, Build Self-Esteem, and Find Balance and The Better Boundaries Workbook.

100 Love Yourself Quotes To Honor The Beauty In You

By Maxime Lagacé

Maxime is the founder and chief editor of WisdomQuotes. He has been collecting quotes since 2004. His goal? To help you develop a calm, peaceful and powerful mind. Learn more about him on his about page.

Here are 100 of the best “love yourself” quotes. Self-love is probably one of the most important things you can accomplish in your life. So start with that, and then expand your love to others. You’ll discover quotes by Buddha, Lao Tzu, Maya Angelou, and more. Enjoy!

We must fall in love with ourselves. I don’t like myself. I’m crazy about myself. Mae West

You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anyone. Maya Angelou

Just be, and enjoy being. Eckhart Tolle

The moment you know yourself you have known the most precious thing in existence. Osho

Respect yourself, love yourself, because there has never been a person like you and there never will be again. Osho

Don’t move the way fear makes you move. Move the way love makes you move. Move the way joy makes you move. Osho

You start to live the moment you stop competing with others. Maxime Lagacé

You can’t really love someone else unless you really love yourself first. Fred Rogers

The moment you accept yourself, you become beautiful. Osho

Do your thing and don’t care if they like it. Tina Fey

Because one believes in oneself, one doesn’t try to convince others. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn’t need others’ approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her. Lao Tzu

Of all our infirmities, the most savage is to despise our being. Michel de Montaigne

All you really need to do is accept this moment fully. You are then at ease in the here and now and at ease with yourself. Eckhart Tolle

Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you won’t do anything with it. M. Scott Peck

You’re certainly somebody that people can love. Fred Rogers

Related

140 Self-Esteem Quotes To Improve The Way You See Yourself
118 Self-Respect Quotes To Give You More Power
100 Be Yourself Quotes To Boost Your Courage And Confidence

The Best Love Yourself Quotes

Go to table of contents

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. Buddha

Eat like you love yourself. Move like you love yourself. Speak like you love yourself. Act like you love yourself. Tara Stiles

If you love yourself, you love others. If you hate yourself, you hate others. Osho

All people deserve your kindness, but none more so than you. Justin Kan

I respect myself and insist upon it from everybody. And because I do it, I then respect everybody, too. Maya Angelou

The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves. Pema Chödrön

I have discovered, just as my teachers always told me, that we already have what we need. The wisdom, the strength, the confidence, the awakened heart and mind are always accessible, here, now, always. Pema Chödrön

Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you. Anne Lamott

A person learns how to love himself through the simple acts of loving and being loved by someone else. Haruki Murakami (1Q84)

You are morally obliged to take care of yourself. You should take care of, help and be good to yourself the same way you would take care of, help and be good to someone you loved and valued. Jordan Peterson

The better you feel about yourself, the less you feel the need to show off. Robert Hand

You need time to think, time to dream, time to talk and time to do nothing at all. Brooke McAlary

Seek your own love, not the love of others. You acquire the love of others on the way. @orangebook_

Only when you are kinder to yourself, you can be kinder to the world. Haemin Sunim

If you live to please others, everyone will love you except yourself. Paulo Coelho

If you want to be faithful to someone or something, start by being faithful to yourself. Paulo Coelho

Helping yourself, you help the world. You are in the world – you are the world. You are not different from the world, nor is the world different from you. Sri Ramana Maharshi

Love yourself first because this is the person you are going to spend the rest of your life with. Paulo Coelho (Source)

Love yourself. Love the world. There is no power stronger than love. Deepak Chopra

Feeling the oneness of yourself with all things is true love. Eckhart Tolle

If I loved myself, truly and deeply, what would I do? Kamal Ravikant

Part 2. Self-Love Quotes That Are…

The Most Famous Love Yourself Quotes (Shakespeare, Hillary Clinton, Montaigne, etc.)

Go to table of contents

To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance. Oscar Wilde

The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely. Carl Jung

Self-love is not so vile a sin as self-neglect. William Shakespeare

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lend yourself to others, but give yourself to yourself. Michel de Montaigne

Never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance in the world to pursue your dreams. Hillary Clinton

I think everybody’s weird. We should all celebrate our individuality and not be embarrassed or ashamed of it. Johnny Depp

The real difficulty is to overcome how you think about yourself. Maya Angelou

Be gentle with yourself. You are doing the best you can. Paulo Coelho

I, myself, am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions. Augusten Burroughs

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Loving oneself is the foundation for loving another person. Thich Nhat Hanh

We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. John Lennon

You don’t need another person, place or thing to make you whole. Maya Angelou

If you make friends with yourself you will never be alone. Maxwell Maltz

Don’t be dependent. At all. Ever. Period. Jordan Peterson

He who falls in love with himself will have no rivals. Benjamin Franklin

The moment you see how important it is to love yourself, you will stop making others suffer. Buddha

If you have the ability to love, love yourself first. Charles Bukowski

It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else’s eyes. Sally Field

There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. Anaïs Nin

Related: The Gifts of Imperfection (Amazon book)

Short Self-Love And Love Yourself Quotes

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One-liners, short self-love quotes, sayings, thoughts, and captions for your bio, social status, self-talk, motto, mantra, signs, posters, wallpapers, and backgrounds.

Have mercy for yourself. Jack Kornfield

Love is unconditional. Shane Parrish

Know your chief fault. Baltasar Gracián

Love is the great educator. Sigmund Freud

Love yourself and dream bigger. Teresa Collins

Surround yourself with electric people. George Raveling

Fools laugh at others. Wisdom laughs at itself. Osho

Loving yourself isn’t vanity. It’s sanity. Katrina Mayer

If you find it hard to fit in, stop trying. Adamas Shivananda (Source)

As you love yourself, life loves you back. Kamal Ravikant

Be kind to yourself. If you won’t, who will? Justin Kan

Want to be happy? Stop trying to be perfect. Brené Brown

Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love. Brené Brown

You can listen to the crowd or you can just be yourself. Thibaut

A man who loves himself takes the first step towards real love. Osho

Love is without motive, without a purpose. Love is its own reward. Osho

Inspirational Love Yourself Quotes

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Do you need inspiration? Don’t forget that loving yourself totally can be the hardest, but most important thing you’ll ever do.

Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the face. Helen Keller

Be your own biggest fan. Love yourself and give yourself the things that you need. Mel Robbins

Self-love is the highest frequency that attracts to you everything you want. Idil Ahmed (Source)

It is absolutely necessary to flood your mind with positive thoughts about yourself. Iyanla Vanzant

Remind yourself of all the ways you can be more loving, more supportive, and more encouraging to yourself. Iyanla Vanzant

Send yourself a love letter and then take the time to read it to yourself. Express your heartfelt love to yourself. Iyanla Vanzant

The ultimate power in life is to be completely self-reliant, completely yourself. Robert Greene

Choose yourself. Impress yourself. Be unashamedly in love with where you’re at and not just where you’re headed. The world needs more humans who practice self-love. Vex King (Source)

Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves even when we risk disappointing others. Brené Brown

Be kinder to yourself and then let your kindness flood the world. Pema Chödrön

To be alone is one of the most beautiful experiences. You are no more bothered by others; you are no more forcing yourself to do something which is expected. Osho

Treat yourself as if you were someone that you are responsible for helping. Jordan Peterson

To be a happy person, one has to drop all comparison. Drop all these stupid ideas of being superior and inferior. You are neither superior nor inferior. You are simply yourself! There exists no one like you, no one with whom you can be compared. Then, suddenly, you are at home. Osho

Not everyone is going to love You…Most people don’t even know how to love themselves. Jim Kwik (Source)

Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world. Lucille Ball

You glow different when you love yourself, listen to your intuition and follow your heart. Pammy (Source)

When you love yourself, you automatically attract feelings of love for others around you. Rhonda Byrne

You were born an original work of art. Stay original always. Originals cost more than imitations. Suzy Kassem

Don’t be hard on yourself. Be kind. Yoko Ono

When a woman becomes her own best friend life is easier. Diane Von Furstenberg

You are beautiful. Know this. Anyone who tells you otherwise is simply lying. Steve Maraboli

If only you could sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person. Fred Rogers

What if you simply devoted this year to loving yourself more? Unknown

Related: 11 Easy Ways To Actually Love Yourself More (jordangrayconsulting.com)

Part 3. Conclusion

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This day, I vow to myself to love myself, to treat myself as someone I love truly and deeply – in my thoughts, my actions, the choices I make, the experiences I have, each moment I am conscious, I make the decision I LOVE MYSELF. Kamal Ravikant (Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It)

Read "Love yourself. As if your life depends on it" - Ravikant Kamal - Page 1

Kamal Ravikant

Love yourself. As if your life depends on it

Kamal Ravikant

Love yourself Like your Life Depends on it

* * *

To James, Christina, Sajid, Sal, Sidney and Gideon.

You made this book a reality. Thank you. nine0003

From the publisher

We sent this book to press at the end of 2020. The strangest and most frightening year of the third millennium. At that moment, Russia was horrified by the daily increase in coronavirus cases, America was recovering from the riots, the book business around the world, like many other industries, was in a deep depression. We did not know what to expect from the future, but we were one hundred percent sure that now is the right time to release Kamal Ravikant's book. It is like air needed by those who are going through a difficult period. Those who enter the zone of global changes. For those who need psychological support. We all need her. nine0003

Having formulated this, we began to think: in which series should we put it? And then it became obvious - the book "Love yourself. It's like your life depends on it" is a lot like Jen Sincero's books. First of all, on "NO SY". Yes, unlike the author of sensational bestsellers in Russia, Kamal Ravikant is not prone to humor on the verge of a foul. But at the same time, he is not inferior to Jen Sincero in sincerity, accuracy of expression of thoughts and the supporting power that lies in every line of his texts. Therefore, we decided to release Kamal's book with a cover that is very similar to the cover of NISY. After all, among other things, both books - both Kamal Ravikanta and Jen Sincero - teach you to love, appreciate and accept yourself. "NO SY" perfectly complements "Love yourself", and "Love yourself" - "NO SY". That is, God himself ordered them to occupy one shelf in the reader's house, to form a harmonious ensemble that not only heals the soul, but also pleases the eye. nine0003

The theme of self-love has gained incredible popularity over the past year. And not surprising. A correct attitude towards oneself helps a person to successfully overcome difficult times, while maintaining faith in his strength, peace of mind and hope. Kamal Ravikant, who survived a series of personal disasters, offers a step-by-step program to normalize his life. He reaches out to all who feel lost, crushed, frightened, lost on their way. We are glad that we had the opportunity to publish this book in Russian for the first time. We are proud that it is coming out right now, when so many people need it. nine0003

Be happy. And love yourself like your life depends on it. After all, she really depends on it!

Why read this book?

I almost gave up on publishing this book. I was horrified. Here I am, the first person of the company, falling apart after my company collapsed, and writing a book about how self-love saved me. I thought that I would become a laughingstock and my career would end.

But I stepped over my fears and shared my truth with the world. What happened next changed my life. nine0003

The book has gone viral. People began to share it on the Internet and social networks. They bought copies for friends and family. Wrote hearty reviews. For some, this book literally saved their lives. Others have learned how to love themselves for the first time.

Just think how close I was to giving in to my fears! An important life lesson.

Many readers have contacted me and told me how they applied the advice in the book. They asked questions. And I realized that, despite the success, what I shared was not enough. To create a lasting effect, you had to go further and share more. This is my debt to this book. This is my duty to everyone who reads it. nine0003

So seven years after the first publication, I released an updated edition. In it, I answered all the questions that I received. I hope after reading you will really be able to love yourself. And most importantly, keep doing it for the rest of your life.

Part One, Vow is an expanded original version of the book. In it, I collected all the tools and installations that I would like to be given if I were at the bottom. A simple and practical truth that will help change lives. nine0003

Part Two, Practice Guide - new. It describes a process that I have perfected over the years to keep loving myself. It shows how to move to the next level. Everything here is simple and effective. In a nutshell, this is a step by step guide on how to love yourself. Another thing that I would like to receive as a gift from someone.

Part three, Lesson , also new. These are records of the time when I fell in love unsuccessfully. It shows how I applied everything in this book to heal and then rise from the ashes. You will see my inner and outer journey, what I did right and where I went wrong. Since we usually learn best from stories, experiencing my transformation will help you launch your own. nine0003

I divide life into two periods. One was before I made a vow to love myself, and the other started after. I can't think of a better way to live. Please, try. It works.

Part I. The Vow

How It All Began

In December 2011, I participated in Renaissance Weekend in Charleston, Carolina. It's not what you think - no noble knights or beautiful ladies. In fact, it was a conference attended by Silicon Valley, New York, Hollywood types and politicians with their employees from Washington. This event is similar to TED, but everyone has to participate in the discussion or give a speech. In the questionnaire, participants were asked to list their achievements and awards, and the Nobel Prize was given as an example. I'm serious. nine0003

I have no awards worth talking about. Or a brilliant pedigree. My business card does not include Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley[1]. When the host of the event introduced me to the audience, he said, “Kamal cannot be left alone. Whether he's a US infantry soldier or a Himalayan climber or a pilgrim of old, he's always on the move." He made inquiries about me. His last phrase was: "I'm sure he has something interesting that he would like to share with us." nine0003

I had exactly two minutes to get on the podium and address the audience - scientists, Pentagon officials, corporate executives - all much more qualified than I am. The speaker before me was the youngest student ever to graduate from MIT.

I wonder what happens to the mind at such moments? Time slows down, yes. All that remains is the podium and the microphone. I went up to the stage.

The audience became blurry, as if it had lost focus. The countdown has started. And then I understood what to do. nine0003

I can offer these people something that no one else can. my truth. Something that I learned from my own experience. Something that saved me. The audience regained focus.

“If I can be of any help,” I said into the microphone, “I would like to share the secret of life. - Laughter from the audience. “I only realized it a few months ago.” For the next two minutes, I talked about last summer, when I was very sick, practically bedridden. The company I started from scratch four years ago failed, I just went through a breakup, and the friend I loved died. “To say that I was depressed,” I concluded, “would be a bit of an understatement.” nine0003

And just love yourself. This is the most important thing. ~ Playcasts ~ Beesona.Ru

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Please love yourself

How to Love Yourself: 22 Simple Ideas

Loving yourself can be one of the hardest, yet most important things you’ll ever do.

22 Ways to love yourself

Read More About Self-Love

Purchase a Print-Ready 8.

22 Ways to Love Yourself

The Self-Love Guided Journal

Sharon Martin

100 Love Yourself Quotes To Honor The Beauty In You

The Best Love Yourself Quotes

Part 2. Self-Love Quotes That Are…

The Most Famous Love Yourself Quotes (Shakespeare, Hillary Clinton, Montaigne, etc.)

Short Self-Love And Love Yourself Quotes

Inspirational Love Yourself Quotes

Part 3. Conclusion

Further Readings

Table Of Contents

Trending Quotes

Author Bio

Last update

Read "Love yourself. As if your life depends on it" - Ravikant Kamal - Page 1

And just love yourself. This is the most important thing. ~ Playcasts ~ Beesona.Ru