Nada Kholeif
Love is a basic human need. We all want to feel loved, appreciated and cared for. It is a natural human craving to feel part of a group and belong with people.
A person can have all the money in the world but spending it alone without sharing with others wouldn’t be much fun. Having healthy relationships with people is an important aspect in our happiness and success.
Success wouldn’t be that satisfactory if we didn’t have someone to celebrate with. Failure would be extra hard if we didn’t have a group of close people to support us amidst our sorrows and help us in times of need.
But all the relationships we have with other people are only a mere reflection of the most important relationship in our lives – with ourselves. The most important relationship is the one you have with yourself.
Many times we fall in the trap of ‘not being good enough’, of accepting behaviors from others that hurt us and belittle us, of selling ourselves short, and of being overly critical and mean to ourselves especially in the hard times when we most need gentleness and kindness. These are all reflections of an unhealthy relationship with ourselves.
As Tony Robbins says “The quality of your relationships determines the quality of your life” and the most important relationship is the one you have with yourself. Therefore, in order to have a fulfilling life we must start to build healthy relationships especially with ourselves.
Here are a few ways to help you know where to start:
1-Be Kind to yourself
In a world full of judgment and hate, be kind to yourself. Be your own best friend by supporting, loving, and being gentle on yourself. Embrace yourself with all your strengths and weaknesses and fully accept your imperfections because who is perfect? Right?
2-Practice Gratitude
Focus on the good in every situation. Think of your blessings. Being grateful will help you become more peaceful and satisfied with what you have.
Whatever life throws at you, getting back up every time is an act to be celebrated and admired. Celebrate yourself for surviving all those moments that shaped who you are today.
3-Turn off social media every now and then
Comparison is a killer. Knowing what other people are doing by sharing their selective content will never make us feel any better. Rather, we will start comparing our lives and feel bad. Use this time to work on yourself.
4-Practice Self-Care
Make sure you satisfy your basic needs of having enough sleep, eating healthy nutritious foods, exercising. Taking care of your body and mind is not a luxury, it is a basic need. Don’t compromise it.
5-Walk away from environments, perspectives, relationships, and other commitments that disempower you
Self-love is not only practicing positive thoughts and meeting your needs but also giving up all that disempowers you.
6-Practice Self –Discipline
In order to live a fulfilling life, one must not go blindly after emotions. Focusing on your goals and creating habits to reach these goals is a necessity. Self- discipline is a form of self love because you love yourself so much that commitment to who you are meant to be is your only choice.
7-Have fun
Do what you love every day. Add habits that bring joy to your life. Maybe try something new. Get out of your head and discover a new you.
8-Help someone else
Giving back and helping others is a sure way to feel good. Remember that life is bigger than us and align ourselves with a greater purpose.
No one can satisfy your own needs if you don’t care for yourself first. Therefore, work towards deliberately choosing what gives you peace, happiness and opens doors for challenge and growth. Your relationship with yourself is the longest you’ll ever have so make it based on kindness and love.
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