Self-love Can Work Wonders! Here’s How It Could Change Your Life

Many people struggle with self-love because they mistakenly believe self-criticism can help them perform better. This, however, is untrue. Research has found that self-criticism can have negative effects on your well-being, productivity, and performance.

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How self-criticism can affect you

• Self-criticism makes you acutely aware of the things that you lack, thus, decreasing your confidence.
• It can make you afraid of failing, which could, in turn, cause you to give up easily.
• If you continue criticizing yourself, it’s unlikely that you will ever learn from your mistakes.

Developing self-compassion

If you constantly criticize yourself, developing some self-compassion could help you. What this essentially means is that you treat yourself the way you would treat a dear friend or family member in times of pain or failure – with kindness and understanding. This means being aware and mindful of your thoughts and emotions, without over-identifying with them.

Keep in mind that self-compassion does not mean you need to be overly indulgent. It only requires you to stop beating yourself up for every mistake you make.

How self-compassion can help you

• It increases your willpower and motivation.
• It helps you gain a better perspective, and thus, improves your decision-making. It also makes you a lot more resilient, so you can bounce back and learn from your past mistakes.
• It improves your emotional intelligence, and, thus, betters your relationships.
• It keeps you from feeling overly stressed and overwhelmed when the slightest of things go wrong.
• It reduces anxiety and boosts your emotional and psychological well-being.
• Over time, practicing self-compassion could even improve your overall health.

How to bring self-love into your life

The first thing you need to do is to be aware of negative self-talk. When you find self-criticizing your past actions, replace this with self-compassion.

When your emotions are getting too overwhelming, write yourself a note or letter the way you would to a friend going through a similar situation. While it may seem strange to do this at first, it’s actually a good way to regulate your emotions.

Applying self-love and self-compassion to your life can take a bit of effort, but once you start doing it, the payback will be well worth it.

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