5 Things You Can Do To Fall In Love With Yourself

How many times have you heard someone say, "You have to love yourself first?" If you struggle with self-image or if you've had trouble keeping relationships, you've likely heard it a lot. It's common advice.

That doesn't mean it's terrible advice. In fact, it's pretty good. If there's one gift I could give everyone in the world, it would be the gift of self-love. When you love yourself, you're more confident. Confidence attracts people. It also makes it easier to find good jobs, succeed at your goals, and have better relationships.

Unfortunately, learning to love yourself isn't easy! You're not alone if you struggle with this. If don't know how to love with yourself, here are 5 things that can help:

#1 Surround yourself with positive people - and dogs!

One of the best things you can do for your view of yourself is to surround yourself with people who are positive and show you love. That can be family, but if your family doesn't fulfill the need for positive vibes, look elsewhere.

Create your own tribe of love and positivity!

If someone makes you feel good after you spend time with them, spend more time with them. Seek out people who smile, do good things just because they like to make others' lives better, and see the positives in life.

If you're having a hard time finding positive people, start with animals. Animals can be great for helping you feel more positive. Dogs are especially loyal if you treat them right. They'll snuggle you at night, keep you company during the day, and they'll think you're the most awesome person in the world if you feed them on time and give them belly rubs.

Other animals can be good, too. Personally, I love cats. There's nothing like the feeling of a cat purring on you and some will tell you that a cat purr can be therapeutic. Maybe you're more into snakes or turtles. They can show love, too!

#2 Stop comparing yourself to others

Everyone has their challenges, their good days and bad days, and their own path. You might see someone that always seems to smile, but I can promise you, they have off days, too! No one has the perfect life.

Want the money or the things that your neighbor has? The career that your sibling has? Or the perfect body of the girl on the treadmill beside you at the gym? Those things might seem great, but there's a good chance that those people are looking at the woman who has the big loving family or the woman who lives the single life and can do what she wants, when she wants.

No one has it all, even if they make it seem like they do. Instead of wishing you have what others have, look at what you do have and enjoy it.

#3 Let go of the past

Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone makes bad decisions. Remember, though, we all do what we can and make the best decisions we can with the tools and knowledge at our disposal. No one makes bad decisions because they are bad people. We don't make mistakes because we are dumb.

All you can do is move forward and make the best decisions possible with what you have right now.

Continue to learn and grow and develop skills and you'll make better choices in the future.

#4 Dress for yourself

Stop dressing for other people. Dress in a manner that makes you feel good about yourself. You may have to make concessions for work because of dress codes, but the rest of the time you can wear what you like!

If you like short skirts and tank tops and it makes you feel good, wear that. If you are more comfortable in baggy jeans and plaid sweaters, wear that. If you like wearing all black because it lets you remove the decision making from the process of getting dressed, wear that!

When it comes right down to it, no one else matters when it comes to your clothes, so dress in a manner that makes you feel your best.

The same rule applies to your makeup and hair. You don't need anyone else's approval!

#5 Give yourself credit

It's easy to give others credit for the things they accomplish, their behavior, or just for doing things that they should. We often don't give ourselves credit, though.

Got up on time today when it's normally a struggle for you? Give yourself a pat on the back. Feed your kids a healthy snack every day this week? Yay Mom! Remember to set up that appointment? You deserve to brag a bit about it.

You don't have to keep these successes to yourself, either. Be loud and proud about what you've accomplished! Shout it from the rooftop or share it on social media and don't let anyone tell you that you don't have the right to be proud!

Give yourself time

None of these things are easy to do for someone who is used to berating themselves or telling themselves they are not enough. These five things will take practice.

Start with one thing on this list and work on it until it becomes easier to do. You're going to like yourself more if you consistently do even one of these things.

Then do one more thing. Then another.

You may not notice changes in the way you feel about yourself immediately. It takes time and effort and consistency. One day, though, you will wake up and realize that you are falling in love with yourself.

When that happens, everything changes. You'll find it easier to set boundaries. You won't put up with other people's bad behavior. Each day will be something to look forward to. Best of all, you'll notice that other people treat you the way you want to be treated!

When you fall in love with yourself, you don't need to rely on other people to make you feel good because you make you feel good!