You probably spend all your time being nice to others, but we bet there’s one person that you often forget about: yourself. Practicing self-love and self-care used to feel like a selfish thing to do, but in today’s fast-paced world, it’s more than needed. Furthermore, showing yourself some kindness and compassion has some health perks, as well – it lowers stress levels, boosts the immune system, and helps you feel better about yourself.
Here are 20 ways that you can be nicer to yourself.
You don’t need to wait for certain special occasions to treat yourself to a nice meal at your favorite restaurant. Sometimes being nicer to yourself means doing something that will make you happy in the moment for no reason at all – even if that’s scoffing down a bowl of spaghetti at your favorite Italian joint.
2. Sign up for a Cooking Class
Instead of filling yourself with take-outs and frozen meals, do yourself a favor and learn how to make a healthy meal by taking some cooking classes. By signing up, you can learn the ins and outs of the kitchen so you not only feel confident when making a meal but also give yourself what you need to feel your best.
3. Ditch the Scales
Having scales in your bathroom can help you reach your goals, but studies have shown that they can do some harm, too – particularly to your self-esteem and body satisfaction. If having scales available tends to make you feel worse than better, be a little nicer to yourself and throw it out.
4. Take Some Alone Time
Sometimes being nice to yourself simply means taking a break and unwinding with some well-deserved alone time. As nice as it is to spend time with people, the ultimate form of re-energizing is chilling by yourself.
5. Ask for Help When You Need It
That overwhelmed feeling you have isn’t going to go away any time soon if you keep adding more and more to your to-do list without getting help from those around you. If you’re struggling, don’t be afraid to speak up and ask for help. There are plenty of people in your life who would be willing to take some of those stresses off your plate, but that’s not going to happen until you ask.
It might be fun to stay up late each night, but that’s not being nice to your body. You need to focus on getting enough sleep every night, which, according to the National Sleep Foundation, is seven hours. This will help you stay fueled and feeling your best.
7. Focus on Your Accomplishments, Not Your Failures
Everyone fails in life once in a while. Sure, it’s going to feel bad, but should you only focus on the negatives? Absolutely not. Instead, learn from your mistakes, then focus on your accomplishments. A positive mindset will help you grow, whether it’s in life or in your career.
8. Write Yourself a Love Letter
Who says that love letters have to be written to you by someone else? If you’re feeling pretty down, sometimes something as simple as picking up a pen and writing down your feeling on a bit of paper can be a fool-proof way to increase your spirits.
9. Find a New Hobby That You Enjoy
Your hobbies often get overlooked. Spend some time soul-searching and find yourself a new pastime – one that doesn’t involve technology – that you really enjoy doing, then devote a few hours every week to doing just that.
10. Rid Your Life of Clutter
Being nice to yourself also means being nice to your home, and having a bunch of junk in your house is only weighing you down. Studies have shown that clutter not only affects your well-being and mental health by taking away the comfort that’s usually associated with private space, but it can also lead to poorer eating habits. Fill up some cardboard boxes with things you don’t need and donate them to those who could actually make use of it.
Meditation doesn’t just give you time to reflect and unwind, it is also a really simple way to be nicer to yourself. Meditating can help you let go of bad feelings, help you be more kind, and help you be more compassionate, both toward yourself and others.
12. Take Yourself out to Watch a Movie
Need a mental break to de-stress? Look no further than the movie theater. One of the nicest things that you can do for yourself is buying a ticket to your favorite film and a big bucket of popcorn.
13. Use Up Your Vacation Days
It might seem that the office will crash and burn without you there to keep things in order, but don’t let that stop you from taking a well-deserved vacation. Instead of sweeping those hours of freedom to the side, use up all of them by doing something you’ve always wanted to do.
14. Practice Forgiveness
Whether it’s forgiving someone else or yourself, practicing forgiveness will help you move on from things that might be hard to let go of. Once you have done this, you’ll move through life with an ease you didn’t even know existed thanks to all those heavy weights being lifted off your chest.
15. Stop Trying to Do It All
We’re sorry to break it to you, but superheroes are fictional. You can try doing everything, but going overboard will only leave you feeling drained. Instead, make yourself a list of all the things you need to get done and choose the most important. Those other things can wait for another day.
Laughter really is the best medicine. Giving yourself the chance to laugh as often as possible has been scientifically proven to release endorphins – those feel-good chemicals that boost your mood.
17. Stop Comparing Yourself to Others
In the age of social media, it’s far too easy to compare yourself to others in every aspect of life, from wishing you were as fit as someone else or wishing you got to travel as much. In reality, everyone has their own issues and putting yourself down because you don’t think you’re good enough is no way to live.
18. Be Patient With Yourself
Sometimes when it doesn’t seem like you’re getting to the place you want to be fast enough, it’s very easy to put yourself down and get angry. Rid that negativity from your mind and practice patience instead. You’ll get there, we promise, and boosting yourself up instead of putting yourself down will only help further your progress.
19. Make a Bold Change
It could be something as small as getting a haircut you’ve been wanting for ages or packing up and moving to another country. Choose something that you’ve been afraid to do, and then do it. Doing something that has been on your to-do list for far too long is a great way to show yourself some kindness.
20. Go on Midday Walks
After sitting at a desk for most the day, one of the best things you can do for yourself is to step away from your computer and head out into the sun for a nice walk. Getting some vitamin D will result in enough feel-good vibes to get you through the rest of your day.
Source: bestlifeonline
Images: depositphotos
