4 Simple Ways You Can Show Yourself Love Every Single Day

I've always been terrible at practising self-love. I find it way too easy to get swept away in the rush of life and forget to treat myself right. It's something I've been struggling with ever since I can remember.

But self-love is important, no matter how easy it is for us to put it on the backburner. How you treat yourself affects your life more than you'd think.

I only recently realized the full scope of his. How I feel about myself impacts things like what I make myself eat. How good my sleep schedule is. How bad my anxiety gets. How much I talk to my friends and family. What I do in my free time.

I realized that when I lag behind on showing myself love, I start slipping in other areas of my life, too. I start eating unhealthily. I isolate myself. My mental health goes out of the window.

Self-love doesn't come easy to me. And I don't think it does to a lot of people. Some find it natural to love themselves, but a lot of us don't. And if we fail to focus on self-love, we won't practice it.

"The most powerful relationship you will ever have is the relationship with yourself."― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

Over the last couple of months, I started developing a self-love routine which I'd like to share with you. These are the little things I try to do every single day to make sure I feel loved and appreciated by myself.

1. Smile at your reflection

Every day I wake up, go to the bathroom, and brush my teeth. And every day, I look in the mirror when I do so. This is something that happens naturally. Since, you know, the mirror is right there. In front of me. It would be hard not to look in it.

One simple thing I started doing was that instead of going straight to brushing my teeth, I look my reflection in the eyes. And I smile.

It's a simple thing. It only takes you a few seconds. Yet, it can completely transform your mood and set the tone for the day ahead.

When I smile, I can feel myself getting lighter. Even if I'm not particularly looking forward to the day. Even if I didn't get the best night's sleep. The act of smiling at myself reminds me that I'm okay. I'm alive. This can still be a good day if I can remember to go into everything with a soft smile on my face.

Tip: When you do this, notice how your face transforms and becomes prettier. Everyone is beautiful when they smile. Remind yourself of that, too. You are beautiful.

2. Check in with yourself

It's easy to go through days and weeks and months without realizing what's going on with you on the inside.

I know this from personal experience. On countless occasions, I would go through my life without stopping for a reflection break. I would go about my days without any thought of how I felt. I wouldn't pay attention to any potential anxieties and hurts that I suffered along the way.

But do you know what always happens when I live like this? One day, it all snowballs, and I get hit by a storm of messy feelings and unresolved tensions.

A couple of days ago, I was going through it. I felt tired and melancholy. I didn't have much willpower to do anything. It finally came to the point when I couldn't just push through. I had to tackle whatever this mood was. I sat down, closed my eyes, and took a couple of deep breaths. Then I started to sort my thoughts out. I questioned why I was feeling so anxious. And a lot of things came to me.

I realized that I hadn't been paying enough attention to myself. I was stressed about the upcoming exams, the fact that I forgot to clean the dishes, the fear of forgetting my friend's birthday. These things piled high on top of each other and made me feel terrible. But they could be solved fairly easily. I could clean the dishes now. I could start preparing for the exams early. I could set up a birthday notification.

So, I did all that. And I felt so much better.

The solution to our problems is often simpler than it seems. Often, we miss what's going on with us because we don't stop to think about it. By asking myself how I am, I can avoid a lot of stress. I can also show myself that I care. You would ask your friends if they're okay, so why not ask yourself, too?

Tip: Check in with yourself every day, even if only for one minute. You don't have to spend two hours daily jotting down everything that's going on in your head. But try to keep on top of it, much like you'd want to keep on top of your work and your emails. Your mental health is just as important. You don't want things to pile up to a point where the damage control takes you out of it for at least a week.

3. Make yourself laugh

Self-love doesn't have to be serious and serene all the time. It can be fun, too. It should be fun.

I love laughter more than anything. There isn't a better feeling than the joy you feel when something makes you burst out laughing.

I make sure that a day doesn't go by without me having a proper laugh at least once. No matter how bad the day gets, I always make time for fun.

There are many ways I do this. I listen to my favourite songs and dance around the flat in a silly manner. I pull stupid faces in the mirror. I go online and watch an episode of my favourite sitcom. I talk to my friend. I read a funny book.

The options are endless. You can do anything that you find funny or entertaining. But do it at least once a day. Much like with the morning smile, laughter can quickly change your whole mood for the better.

Every time I make myself laugh, I feel great. Not only because I laughed. But also, because I did it myself. I warm up to myself immediately because it proves that I'm funny. I'm interesting. I'm worth my own love.

4. Forgive yourself

I'm someone who likes to make mental checklists. Who likes to plan. I always make sure I know what I want to do each day. What's on the itinerary.

I also tend to grossly overestimate my abilities on the daily.

The combination of these often leads to disappointment. It rarely happens that I finish a day with a feeling of absolute satisfaction. There will always be something I can be mad at myself about. A book I haven't finished. An email I didn't write. A friend I didn't call.

An expectation I didn't meet.

It's easy to beat myself up about this. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who has the tendency, either. But think about it: what good does it to get upset with yourself? Does it actually achieve anything other than a foul mood?

No, of course, it doesn't.

The biggest thing I try to do each day is to forgive myself. I'm not perfect. I can't be. I shouldn't try to be. That is a standard way too high to be healthy. It's not achievable. It's not realistic. It's not real.

I'm a perfectionist who's trying to learn to face her own failures. To accept them. This isn't easy for me, but I try. That's all I can do, after all. Try my very best and forgive myself for the rest.

Tip: If you feel like you didn't get enough done on a specific day, write down all the things you have done. Include the little things, too. A healthy lunch. A compliment you gave to someone. Then, appreciate yourself and all that you've achieved. Focus on that instead of your flaws. Once you realize that you've done well in other areas, it's easier to be forgiving of your missteps.

"The only person who can pull me down is myself, and I'm not going to let myself pull me down anymore." ― C. JoyBell C.

Self-love is something we hear about often. And that's for a reason - it's an incredibly important part of a happy life.

I try to remind myself every day that I am worth love. Not only the love of other people but my own love, too. Even when it feels difficult. Especially when it feels difficult.

We dedicate so much of our time to so many things. We spend hours picking the best Christmas presents for our loved ones. We take ages writing reports for our boss. We write thoughtful comments under Medium articles. So why can't we put some of our energy towards loving ourselves?

We're all humans, after all. We crave love. We deserve love. So, tomorrow, when you go to brush your teeth, smile at yourself in the mirror. Don't drag yourself down. Lift yourself up.

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This article was originally published on Medium. This is a slightly altered version.