Today I decided to spend $7 on a scoop of ice cream… Seriously it was the smallest size for $7… Usually, I would never do something like that because spending that much on one scoop of ice cream would make me cry. However, today I decided to treat myself. I have been working hard in many aspects of my life and I absolutely love this ice cream place. So why the heck shouldn’t I treat myself occasionally to something I love and deserve!? SELF- LOVE ladies and gentlemen! It comes in many forms and in many different times of your life. It does not always include shopping and spending money; you can incorporate it into little activities you do every day. Adding self-care into your life can lift your mood, replenish your energy, and motivate you to keep on going. Some of these easy self-love tips can come easily to some and harder for others. Most of them take time to learn, perfect, and turn into habits that you do every single day. For some of you, they might sound dumb or useless, and for others they might be things that you try and realize that you wish you would have started doing a long time ago. No matter where you are on this spectrum, self-love is important in your life. You cannot be happy and successful on the outside if you don’t have a strong internal base. 

The fact that so many of us struggle in the self-love department is not our faults like we all think it is. Society is constantly making us feel like we always have to be working and if we aren’t working hard 100% of the time then we are failing. Social media is causing us to compare our lives to other peoples and let me tell you… other people’s lives look PERFECT! First of all, let me say that it is all a show, people choose exactly what they want to show and hide from the world. Secondly, we do not always have to be on our A-Game and be grinding day and night. We need to allow ourselves to take breaks and work on ourselves, our inner selves. The thing that should matter the absolute most, but the thing that not many people talk about. Mental health is becoming less of a taboo topic to talk about which is great because it relates so much to self-love. If you are constantly working to the point of exhaustion and not doing anything else, then you’re going to get mentally drained and it won’t make you feel great. Incorporating self-love into your daily routine is essential and can be a game changer for how you feel both mentally and physically.

1. Give yourself a break. Yes, it is okay to lay down and browse social media or take pointless Buzzfeed quizzes sometimes. Taking a break to relax and do something you enjoy should be something you look forward to doing, not something you do and feel guilty about later on. Everybody gets worn out and everybody needs some time for themselves. Never feel guilty for having to stop and catch your breath once in a while.
2. Like I just stated, finding a hobby you like to do for fun. This does not have to be something you’re amazing at. In fact, find a hobby you absolutely suck at but still love to do. Something that you don’t have to put much thought into and where you can just escape into your own little world and be yourself. Those adult coloring books are very popular for this exact reason, they give thee user an escape from the craziness of their lives.  Whether this is painting, or dancing, or making blogs/YouTube videos (HELLO ME!) Find something you love to do and run with it.
3. Learn to forgive yourself. Making mistakes is a part of life, it is what we rely on to learn. Learning to let go and not hanging things over your head like a dark cloud is essential for happiness. You need to be able to let go the time you accidentally closed a door onto some little kids face in the grocery store (sorry little guy) or the time you cut off a man on the highway (also what I did last week). MOVE ON! Chances are they already forgot about it and so should you. Holding onto your mistakes wont change them, it will only make you suffer until you are able to forget about it.
4. Reach out for help if you need it! This is a huge one. You do not have to go through life alone, it’s horrible for your mental health to do everything on your own all the time. Your friends, family, or coworkers won’t think any less of you if you ask for assistance to get something done. Honestly, it takes a brave person to admit when they need help, so they will probably even admire you for it.
5. Learn to say no! I wrote a whole post about this last week (go check it out). But, knowing your own limits and declining things that might get in the way of your health and happiness is so important. Stop worrying about making everybody happy and worry about making YOURSELF happy. Its your life and you should only be living it for yourself.

Incorporating self-love techniques into your life takes time and practice. There are so many other ways to add more love into your own life, but these are my current favorites and ones I am currently working on permanently adding into my own life. If these tips don’t work for you, then you can always go and buy yourself a $7 ice cream just like I did today, because it sure as heck made me a little bit happier!

xoxo Em