Ways to Help You Love Yourself

January 24, 2017

In a society that is always trying to criticize everything and bring you down, staying positive and above the influence is extremely important. It’s so easy to let the negativity from the media and other people make you feel bad about yourself. Loving yourself for who you are is essential to your happiness and a high quality of life. Here are some ways you can help yourself look on the brighter side of life.

Fake it ‘til you make it. If you aren’t confident in your appearance or skills, but you act as if you did feel confident, you can get to a place where you truly feel that way. Because of the placebo effect and the concept of self-fulfilling prophecies, you can do or feel whatever you choose as long as you believe it’s possible. A placebo is a pill or supplement that contains no medicine and that cannot heal any illnesses. The dictionary defines the placebo effect as “a beneficial effect, produced by a placebo drug or treatment, that cannot be attributed to the properties of the placebo itself, and must therefore be due to the patient’s belief in that treatment.” Some scientists believe that there is a connection between your expectations and your body chemistry, so when you expect a placebo sleeping pill to make you feel tired, your body may react by slowing your heart rate and breathing. Because of their belief alone, patients have been healed of all kinds of illnesses. Similarly, self-fulfilling prophecies are predictions of the outcome of a situation that cause you to act in a way that brings about that result. For example, if you go to take a test knowing for sure that you’re going to bomb it, your prediction can cause you to second guess yourself, or not put forward your best effort, and ultimately cause you to fail. This can work in the other direction, too, like if you think you’ll do well with a speech and have the right attitude, you will probably find success as well.

Watch your language. What you say determines how you feel. If you only talk about how terrible your life is, your speech not only brings others down, but it affects your own emotions. Do not give a voice to your self-demeaning thoughts. Hearing your words reinforces a belief in what you say. Talking about the things you don’t like about yourself, especially in a non-joking way that sounds sincerely degrading, can add to your self-doubt. In a similar situation, if you hear negative voices in your head telling you that you’ll never amount to anything, tell them how wrong they are. Address the voices out loud and contradict them in a tone that suggests you believe what you’re saying. For example, if a thought comes into your head that insults your appearance, in turn say, “I’m not going to listen to you because you’re lying, and you’re just trying to bring me down. I am beautiful and valuable just the way I am, and no one can tell me otherwise.” Say positive things that build you up instead of things that tear you down. Repetition helps stamp the encouraging sayings into your memory, so say them frequently. Your words are a powerful tool.

“Treat yo self.” Always reward yourself for good behavior and accomplishments, even if it’s as simple an achievement as finishing all your homework or tidying up your room. Rewards don’t have to be extravagant; if you’re nice to someone that you don’t like, you can tell yourself what a good job you did, and make a little extra time for you to do something that makes you happy, like playing video games or reading your favorite book. Treat yourself with a drink from Starbucks or an ice cream if you do something extra good or challenging. By pointing out all the things you do that you like about yourself, you can train yourself to want to do those things more often. Set attainable goals for yourself, and congratulate yourself when you succeed. On the flip side, though, when you don’t meet your goals, don’t beat yourself up too much. Punishing yourself because you messed up is not a healthy way to change your behavior. Tell yourself that you’ll do better next time and work to make that happen. Remember, you’re worth it.

Focus on the positive. Make a list of things you like about yourself, or even write those things on pieces of paper and put them in a jar. Whenever you feel bad about yourself, go through the list and focus your mind on all the favorable things about you. Remind that you are a person who is filled with good characteristics that are not overpowered by the bad.

You are a human, which means that you are inherently flawed and full of imperfections by nature. But these imperfections add to what makes you, you. People come in all different shapes, sizes, likes, beliefs, talents, and emotions, and each person is simply beautiful because of that. You are valuable and deserve good things, so continue to remind yourself of that.

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  • J

    Jenna TackettFeb 10, 2017 at 8:17 am

    #FakeItTillYouMakeIt #LiveLife #AndreaRahmanIsAnAwesomeWriter #LoveYa <3

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