Self-love and self-esteem are not the same, but they do support each other. They are built from similar factors. One can help you build the other. They are different aspects of how you treat yourself. Self-esteem is being proud of your abilities and who you are, whereas self-love is accepting who you are despite knowing your flaws.
One of the popular beliefs is that you can have good self-esteem without loving yourself fully. In reality, self-love is accompanied by good self-esteem. It is not easy to develop good self-esteem, but it is possible to develop by changing your habits and practicing self-love.
Do you also have your own self-love goals for 2021? Read this article to find out how you can achieve your self-love goals this year.
Lets learn more about self-love and Self-esteem
What is self-love?
Self-love is evaluating your well-being and taking actions for betterment. It is being happy and taking care of your own needs. It is not sacrificing your needs for the good of others. Knowing what self-love looks like for you is an integral part of your mental health.
How do you practice self-love?
Self-love begins with acceptance, which is followed by the act of kindness. It is enacted through compassion. Here are a few wonderful ways to practice self-love and achieve your self-love goals for 2021.
- Put yourself first: you might be under stress while working under deadlines. You require a bit of self-love. Just take some time off for yourself. Take care of your health. Go on a holiday and explore something new.
- Do what you always love: Try your favorite recipe, dance to the tunes. Do whatever pleases you and comforts you. Practice your hobby. Let that cheer you up.
- Do not self criticize: you have to quit the criticism about yourself. Stop thinking like: “Oh no! I should not have done that”. Have a little faith in yourself. Do not lower your standards for yourself.
- Exercise: Incorporate any kind of exercise into your routine. It makes you feel positive and happier.
- Reduce social media usage: You have to provide your mind a bit rest from social media. Constantly looking at other people’s lives can lead to comparing yourself to others, which may hurt your feelings. Instead, follow and engage people who encourage you.
Barriers to self-love.
Ask yourself, how much time are you spending to take care of yourself. The answers are surprising. You may not even think about it, let allotting time for it. People have excuses for that, like, “I do not have time for that,” “I can’t because,” and “It’s tough while managing kids.”
Everybody plays many roles in life, but it is essential to spend time taking care of yourself.
What is self-esteem, and how to develop that?
Self-esteem is how to view yourself. It is the self-image that is molded through life’s experiences. If you develop healthy self-esteem, you will feel confident in your abilities to meet life’s challenges and feel content in your skin. In contrast, too high self-esteem leads to overconfidence which leads to the willingness to explore your flaws.
People with lower self-esteem do not accept compliments or comets. They lack confidence and harshly judge their abilities. They have a poor sense of self-worth.
Here are a few unique ways to develop self-esteem.
- Identify the negative thoughts and replace them. Challenge the negative beliefs about yourself and write those. Remember that those are not true.
- Write down positive things about yourself. Write about your achievements and the nice things that people have said to you. When you feel low, remind that there is plenty good about you.
- Surround yourself with positive people. Some certain people and relationships make you feel better when you are with them. Avoid people and relationships that make you feel bad about yourself.
- Take a break. You may feel overwhelmed or struggle to maintain your self-belief and feel a bit down. Self-esteem varies from person to person. One may feel comfortable with friends and colleagues but uneasy with strangers. Others are totally in command of themselves and may fee vice versa.
Can you practice self-love without self-esteem?
When you allow engaging in self-love, you learn how much you are worth. You will know how much you can grow from both difficult and joyful moments in your life. However, it is not easy because it demands a lot of compassion for yourself. This begins with developing healthy self-esteem and learning to love yourself.
As you grow up, you develop self-esteem, but sometimes you grow up without unconditional love, which lowers your self-esteem. When others care about you, you won’t have a chance to take care of yourself. Then you won’t care about yourself. You will be emotionally attached to your caregivers.
But in reality, if you put yourself first and tend your emotional and physical well-being, you will be able to care for others.
If you have lower self-esteem, you won’t think that you are worthy of self-love and self-care. You only take care of things that value you. You will only nurture things you love and do not spend the time or effort to nurture yourself. If you do not believe in yourself, diet, yoga, meditation, or exercise will not help you. First, you need to fix your self-esteem and then make time for self-love and care.
Self-esteem is more prevalent than self-love. You can have good self-esteem in some aspects of your life and not in others. You might be confident with your abilities and work on that but may lack the confidence to maintain relationships. When you love yourself, you accept yourself with all these shortcomings. It helps you to improve overall self-esteem.
It is also good to think about yourself and not beer than others. With good self-esteem, feel positivity but not in an arrogant way. This often happens when you do not love yourself. When you integrate self-esteem and confidence, it can blossom into strong self-love. Pay attention to how you react to life’s problems and difficult situations. Notice yourself when you feel confident and accept yourself as you are.
Finally, know that true self-esteem and self-love require accepting as you are. We hope that this article helped you in achieving your self-love goals and allowed you to be comfortable in your own skin.
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