To fix yourself is to change the relationship you have with yourself and turn self-love into a daily practice.
Loving yourself is a step-by-step process. It involves reconnecting with your inner self, finding reasons to appreciate yourself for who you are and fixing the bad behaviors that lead to suffering, lack of confidence and not taking action to find your life’s purpose and follow your dreams.
Here’s what you need to pay attention to if you want to fix your relationship with yourself:
How to Fix Yourself and Start Loving Yourself Again
1. Forgive yourself.
You can’t be happy or find meaning in your days or peace of mind unless you have forgiven yourself.
To forgive is to know that it was what it was but it doesn’t have to be what it will be. It’s to understand that all the mistakes you made in the past, the times you didn’t take action, the words you didn’t say, the goals you never achieved, all this was just as it was supposed to be. It doesn’t mean you won’t perform better in the future.
Forgiving yourself may help you release negative emotions that may be holding you back from becoming better. Additionally, doing this step may help improve your mood and overall outlook in life.
Not forgiving means carrying the burden of the past.
It’s when you’re blaming yourself for all the things that went wrong, all the people who left you, all the times you lost
But remember that at that exact moment, it was what you wanted. You were a different person then and you should respect your past decisions. Because of
Don’t bring any negative emotions from the past to your present. Instead, enjoy what you’re doing now and who you are today, and look forward to who you’ll become.
2. Appreciate yourself.
Here are some things we usually forget but which can let us be thankful for who we are. And that appreciation can soon turn into love:
All the small wins so far
We remain blind for our past successes and often choose to look only at the defeats. But what about all the times you exceeded in your career, learned something new, got a good grade on a test, showed courage when things were difficult, spoke up when no one else could, refused to settle down for less than you deserve, took a chance and made the most of it, etc?
These are the things you should smile about.
What’s best, these successes can be replicated and you can accomplish much more if you’re determined enough. The past proves that you can do it. So what’s stopping you from succeeding again?
Acknowledging your accomplishments may help you recognize your good qualities more and make better choices in the future. If you want to practice self-love, you may celebrate your small wins by treating yourself to something you enjoy. For example, you can buy something you like or spend a day relaxing whenever you achieve significant success.
The compliments we received
A great exercise that will lift you up and remind you why you’re worth it is to list all the compliments you’ve ever received from other people. Others are able to notice good qualities of ours when we refuse to, and that’s encouraging.
Remembering compliments may also help you if your self-confidence affects various aspects of your life. For example, if you’re too shy to speak for yourself since you don’t think you matter, you can remind yourself of all the good qualities other people see in you.
Additionally, you can work with a negotiation coach to help boost your confidence and thrive in life.
The good deeds
Go back in time and think about all the times you helped others, gave advice, motivated someone to take action, did favors, etc. These are part of your good personality, don’t ignore that side of yours when trying to fix yourself.
There’s plenty of stuff to appreciate about yourself already. Sometimes we’re just looking in the wrong direction.
3. Take care of yourself.
In order to fix yourself and create self love in your life again, you’ll have to show that to yourself. If you’re constantly neglecting your health, appearance, feelings and peace of mind, you’ll be negative, discouraged and in a bad shape.
That’s why living a healthier lifestyle, having some special rituals, making time for what matters, doing things you enjoy and having some me time is crucial for your physical, spiritual and mental health.
You’ll see what some of these good habits to develop are in the last chapter of the book. Turning them into daily practices will let you feel energetic, be in a good mood, be calm and peaceful, unleash your positivity and creativity, and be productive and get things done.
For now, just know that you should be taking care of yourself more.
Begin by resting properly. A good night’s sleep, taking regular breaks during work, spending some time alone and in silence, and meditating – all these are great ways to get the rest you need.
Learning how to say no or taking things slow when your body and mind feel tired are also excellent methods you can do to ensure you’re well-rested.
Most people are keeping themselves busy all day and that makes them stressed out and exhausted. When they get home, they keep thinking about what happened during the day, bring their work and problems with them, or are overwhelmed with what must be done the next day.
That ruins their sleep and they wake up in a bad mood and start the day in a negative way. Such a vicious circle.
Having some peaceful me time can help a lot when trying to fix yourself and improve. A great way to get it is to wake up a bit earlier and enjoy the early morning.
It’s quiet, no one else is up at that time, it’s perfect for some inspiring and creative activities like writing, reading, getting some focused work done or brainstorming new ideas for your business. In the end of the book, you’ll learn how to create a whole morning ritual like that to set yourself up for a successful and productive day.
4. Trust yourself.
If you’ve let yourself down a couple of times, and haven’t taken the steps above to fix your relationship with yourself, you probably don’t trust yourself.
That’s when you don’t try again after failure because you don’t believe you can do it, when you let others take decisions on your behalf, or don’t follow your dreams because you don’t listen to your true desires and don’t trust your guts.
All this is how you show disrespect to your soul, body and mind and get even further from loving yourself.
So stop these. Instead, start to actively listen to your inner voice. Have a little bit of faith in your abilities and be resilient whenever you face challenges.
Go with the flow and believe that whatever happens, you’ll be fine, do the things you enjoy, take decisions fast without overthinking, listen to your heart and do what it says even if it’s against all odds.
Communicate with yourself more often by spending some time alone, asking yourself questions and trying to answer them honestly, noticing your feelings and the emotions that arise in different situations.
If you have difficulty articulating your thoughts, you may also keep a journal to organize your ideas.
Your body and such inner conversations can tell you a lot about yourself that you may have missed over the years.
Say yes to things you feel like doing even when it doesn’t make sense, and learn to say no to others when they want you to go against your nature.
This will help you be your true and best self.
Build self-trust and see how your life transforms in more than one way.
5. Things to stop doing to yourself.
Now, let’s see what bad behaviors you should avoid to live in peace and fix yourself:
Giving up on your dreams
If you think about something often, it’s worth pursuing it. Don’t give up early on, there’s always another way to get there. Only after you’ve tried all possible options, can you move onto another goal;
Criticizing
Instead, you should be your biggest motivator. Acknowledge your progress, and don’t undermine your efforts to be better. Don’t be too harsh on yourself, be alright with the mistakes, accept them as part of the journey to success, and go try again or something else;
Not staying true to yourself and your values
This happens when you listen to others just to please them, or do what you’re supposed to do even though it’s not something you want;
Lying to yourself
That’s an awful thing to do. So many people live in an illusion, don’t ever express their true feelings, pretend to be happy, try to convince themselves that they are doing the right thing, or else. But deep inside, you always know that this is not true. You won’t be satisfied or able to fix yourself and move on peacefully if you don’t put everything on the table and start from there;
Not keeping your promises
When you make a promise to yourself, be it to change an aspect of your lifestyle, stop letting someone treat you badly or go after something you’ve wanted for so long, you should do everything you can to keep it. Otherwise, you’re letting yourself down, which results in lack of self trust and thus you become even unhappier;
Doing things you don’t like
It may be your job, spending time with people you don’t want around you, taking up a sport you don’t enjoy or else. None of this is necessary. You can decide to ditch it at any moment, and instead do things you enjoy, which you’re good at, and which bring you results;
Feeling bad about your weaknesses
That’s a waste of time. Even trying to improve them isn’t the best choice. Because there are so many other things you feel confident in, which come naturally to you and even skills you can master. Take a look at your strengths and work on them even more. That will help you build self-esteem too.
So these are the actions you should take and the practices you should adopt early on to start building a bridge to your heart, fix yourself, and find meaning.
