How to Love Yourself
Accepting your imperfections and learning to truly care for yourself isn’t something that happens overnight, but there are small things you can do to slowly build this up.
- Allow yourself to have weaknesses
Try seeing your “weaknesses” as your starting points for learning. If you feel you’re not doing so well in a certain area, write it down and turn it into a clear goal to work on. Next time you’re in a similar situation, you’ll already have some idea of how you want to handle it better.
- Look at your weaknesses from a different angle
If you notice you’re especially sensitive about certain things, you can try viewing that sensitivity as strong empathy or awareness. Just remember: looking at things differently isn’t about pretending your weaknesses don't exist. It’s about understanding what they mean for you, and finding motivation to grow from that part of yourself.
- Understand your own limits
Practise understanding yourself by asking questions like:
“Why did I think that?” “Why did I react like that?”
By reflecting in this way, you get to know yourself better and slowly learn how to live with your limits. And maybe, through this process, you’ll find yourself becoming more resilient.
- Allow yourself to feel all kinds of emotions
Having lots of different feelings is completely natural. It doesn’t mean you’re weak. Every emotion is part of your body’s way of protecting you. You could try, before you go to sleep, to think back over your day: What emotions did I feel today? Where did they come from?
Noticing these shifts helps you understand your inner world better. If you like, you can even record them in different colours – after a while, you might see subtle changes in yourself.
You could also try noting down one small thing that happened each day, and how you felt or what you did in that moment. Putting messy thoughts into words can stop your emotions from piling up inside and becoming an invisible burden. When you look back later, you’ll start to notice your tiny daily improvements and how much more you’re caring for your own needs. That is a form of self-love.
- You don’t have to “get better” straight away
We all have times when we feel lost or low. You don’t have to force yourself to bounce back immediately. It’s okay to first just accept that these feelings are there. If you need some time alone, you can let people around you know, so they won’t worry too much. When you don’t feel quite yourself, allow yourself a short break. Giving yourself permission to pause, stare into space. Doing nothing for a bit can help your thoughts settle and sometimes, that’s when things suddenly become clearer.
- Give yourself time to rest
On busy days, try using tiny pockets of time to catch your breath – whether it’s a quiet moment before your shower, or a few minutes while you’re on the bus or train, just letting your mind switch off for a bit. Rest is something everyone needs, not a waste of time. Don’t feel guilty for taking a break, and don’t think you don’t “deserve” to rest and must keep pushing on. Only when we’ve properly rested, can we really find our energy again and keep moving forward.
