Being on the camera and living in this digital space is both a blessing and a curse. There are so many amazing opportunities and experiences I have had but like any job there are the negatives. Having to always be on, having to always portray an image, having to measure up to my competitors (who also happen to be my friends). It’s absolutely draining!
This year I vow to make self-love a top priority because if you can’t love yourself how can you love another? I took some time and thought about some easy ways to practice self-love. I’m going to be taking my own advice on the below and I hope you do too!
Let’s love ourselves because we are all unique, beautiful, powerful, intelligent, inspiring people and we only have one shot at life. Might as well kick ass at it!
1. Disconnect from the digital world – This one happens to be important for me and depending on how much time you spend on the internet/social media it might be a top step for you too! Instagram paints a pretty, highly curated picture of people and the lives they lead. We all want to share the fabulous clothes we wear, the amazing places we visit and how much fun our day to day lives are. Of course we do! We aren’t going to share the sad and ugly of the world. But, this can lead to a highly skewed reality of what life is. If you are living your life on the internet, ground yourself and remind yourself that not everything you see is 1. real and 2. the only thing going on. Someone who jet-sets all over the world might be going through a divorce, someone who owns 50 designer bags might have tons of debt. The digital world is not 100% real so disconnect from it and connect to the real one you are living!
2. Stop comparing yourself to others – For me this goes hand in hand with the digital world, COMPARISON. I compare myself A LOT. I compare myself to other bloggers, I compare my photos to other photos, I compare my edits, my style, my quality of content, my clothes…the list can go on for days. If you are constantly looking at others and judging your self-worth to theirs then you are never going to love yourself. Instead, focus all that energy on bettering yourself. Focus on your craft, compare yourself to yourself…if that makes sense. Look at who you were on February 9th 2017 and compare that to who you are right now. Blur everyone and everything else out – you are the only thing that matters to your success. It’s hard but trust me it helps!
3. Spend time with people who inspire you – Whenever I am feeling sad or uninspired I immediately call my friend Jenna. She is not only my best friend and someone I can talk to freely but she inspires me from my core. If I’m feeling frantic or depressed she can make me feel relaxed and happy…just by hanging out with her. Spend your time with quality people who you admire. A lot of self-hate comes from hanging out with shitty people who have nothing to offer, who make you feel like your not worthy, who put you down and who are downers themselves. The more you surround yourself with like-minded people the more happy and motivated you will be…the more you will love yourself!
4. Have a pamper day – There is nothing like a day of pampering and feeling all shiny and new. If I feel ugly I schedule a “Me Day”…I go get my lashes done, get a spray tan, get my nails done, add some extensions. Whatever it is that makes me feel prettier. I always wake up feeling better the next day!
5. Write a list of your best qualities (internal and external) and post them on the mirror – This is one I thought of just because I wanted to remind myself of my best qualities. When you are in a rut you seem to forget about…how funny, charismatic, thoughtful, generous, driven you are. It’s as if you have tunnel vision on all your bad qualities. Having a list of some trigger words that remind you have how amazing you are every morning could really help in the journey to loving yourself!
6. Find your mantra and say it every day…a few times a day! – I am a quote junkie. A good quote can just make me feel like Superwoman…or Beyonce. Quotes are much like mantras…just that mantras are personal and said over and over again. Find a mantra (or even a quote) that really makes you feel powerful and good inside. Say it over and over whenever you are feeling self-hate.
I hope these tips help you in your journey to self-love! Here are some quotes to help you get started on your mantra.
I will definitely put your tips into practice! This has been a struggle of mine scrolling through social media but I think the most helpful exercise will be writing down my best internal and external qualities.:) Thank you Em!!
https://katchingupwithkitty.com/
Xox,
Kitty Rodriguez
Self-love also my struggle. I love myself, but sometimes I feel like I’m forcing myself. Thank you for the advice, gonna giving myself a pamper day this weekend.