You Should Go and Love Yourself

It’s official. 2018 is the year for self-care. In a world filled with conflict, hectic schedules and societal pressures, it's more important than ever that we learn to love ourselves.

But self-worth and self-care don’t always come naturally. It's easy to get caught up in life; we’re so busy looking out for other people that we forget to look out for ourselves. But, once you get the hang of it, self-care is easily achievable. You just have to take the time to figure it out.

My first piece of advice for learning how to take care of yourself is to take a technology detox every day. Technology is increasingly taking over our lives. We find ourselves glued to our screens. Too much technology not only has damaging consequences on your health, but the rise in social media means our self-worth takes a catastrophic hit. It's becoming increasingly easy for us to compare ourselves to other people who seem to have lives that are far more Instagram-worthy than our own. By taking a 20 minute technology detox every day we are helping ourselves give our brains and eyes a rest, and it also gives us time to pause and reflect — it allows us to just focus on ourselves for once.

Mindfulness is widely practised now, but if you’re yet to try it, don’t worry. It's easy to figure out and has amazingly positive effects on the mind and body. Mindfulness involves blocking out some time during your day to focus on yourself. By being mindful and learning how to be in the present moment you will find that your stress levels decrease and your outlook on life becomes a lot more positive. I would recommend using the Headspace app. It comes with a mindfulness coach and loads of meditation and mindfulness exercises to help you with everything from stress to sleep.

Another thing that I find works is keeping a journal or a diary. Now, I know how hard it can be to stick to writing a journal every day. Believe me, I have a ton of journals that have been started and never finished. What I find works best is the One Line A Day Memory Book. These can be purchased online or in stores and last for five years - a worthy investment. You simply write a few lines about how your day has been every evening before you go to bed. By writing every day, regardless of what has happened in your day, you gain a better perspective on life. By learning to appreciate and be grateful for every day you’ll find your outlook on life becomes more positive and your stress levels decrease. It's also a good way to unload any preoccupying thoughts before going to bed.

Exercise in a way that suits you. Fitness is important for our health but it's important that you have fun whilst doing it. Exercise releases endorphins and endorphins make us feel happier. Self-care is about keeping yourself healthy but it is also about keeping yourself happy. If you dread going to the gym or hate going running then try something new. Join a club or start a class. Sport and exercise can work for everyone, you just need to find something that suits you. And for the days when you feel particularly unmotivated, I find that this dance video works really well. It's only ten minutes and it is really fun. It's a great way to start the day and exercise works best when you mix it up a little.

Find a hobby or learn a new skill. Learning new skills is more important as we get older as it helps keep the brain active. And having a hobby, something that you are passionate about, can really boost happiness levels. So whether it's painting, writing, playing an instrument or baking, it's important that we find time in our busy working lives to do the things that make us happy.

By making just a few small changes we can all learn to look after and love ourselves.