5 Steps to Self-Love

Throughout the week I’ve been seeking a topic to write about. I try to post an article for y’all at least once a week, but this week I’ve been struggling on a topic. As I laid in bed amongst a stressful week, I realized that I had experienced a lot of interactions with various people relating to the topic of self-care. Intentional or not, it made me think and process what those steps would look like in a list to self-love.

So here we go.

Filter the real.

My dear friend, Lizzy, posted a beautiful natural-faced selfie on Instagram and wrote a mega-inspiring post about knowing what is real and what is not.  So often we compare ourselves to what we see on Instagram, thinking what we see is what people’s lives actually look like. Comparing ourselves to a filtered fantasy world can leave us feeling disappointed with our very real, non-filtered, messy lives. This can turn into an unhealthy mind game, leaving you feeling, not only disappointed, but questioning your worth.

Nope. Don’t even tell me you aren’t worthy or beautiful because your feed isn’t as aesthetically pleasing as the fashion blogger you follow. That’s a lie.

I want to encourage you to seek the real. Seek people who are vulnerable and open about their humanness. Just because your skin isn’t perfect and your outfits aren’t Insta ready everyday, doesn’t mean you don’t live a beautiful life.

Seek a mentor.

I know this might sound cheesy, but in all honesty, having someone older and ~wiser~ to talk to about life, and seek advice from, is an amazing thing. I’ve had various mentors throughout my life, all of whom are amazing women. Recently I’ve connected with someone super sweet here in Savannah, who has offered, not only her friendship, but her time and guidance to me. I’m so thankful for her new budding relationship.

Slow down.

This particular season of life has been so busy for me. I’ve started a new job, which I love, but is very time and energy consuming, along with all my classes that include many projects, I’m always moving at a fast pace, and have found myself on edge more times than not. When I’m not at work, I’m working on school work. There is always something for me to be doing, and this gets me really high strung.

A couple days ago, I could feel myself moving down a slippery slope into anxiety, and had to force myself to be still. This is easier said than done, for me, at least.

Knowing when your mind and body need to be still, and catch up with everything going on around you, is an important skill to learn. That can look different for everybody. For me, it was taking deep, slow and steady breaths while smelling lavender, and calling my mom, who is the best at praying for me in those times of stress.

I want to encourage you, if you’re like me and have a million things going on, if you feel yourself getting anxious, slow down. Take some deep breaths. Call a friend who can speak peaceful words into your mind. Stopping for a 30 minute soul detox will not set you back. In fact, it’ll probably do the opposite.

Take time to nurture your body.

This step can go hand-in-hand with the last. When we’re busy, we feel like we have no time for some pretty important things, aka making an actual meal to eat. Trust me, your work ethic will be a lot stronger with a balanced diet, coming from a former boxed Mac&Cheese addict. Take an hour to make yourself a decent meal. Watch a little Netflix while you eat, or listen to your favorite band. Make meal time your chill time, in the midst of a chaotic week.

Radiate with as much positivity as you seek.

I’ll be honest, this one is hard for me. When I’m stressed, I am not the most positive human in the world. Just ask my best friend Chloe, my go-to listener for all my complaints, and boy do I have a lot on the daily (bless that girl). Often when I have a lot going on, I don’t think about my attitude or communication. I think about what needs to get done, and the time I need to get it done in.

I think it’s equally as important to seek positive vibes as to give them off. This could be smiling at your classmates, saying hello to people in the morning, asking about your friend’s day instead of jumping to complaining about your hectic life. I hope you’ll join me in this positivity effort, in being aware of our body language and the words we use, even when we have other things to worry about.

I hope these little steps help point you to a week full of self-love. There are tons more ways to love and care for yourself, these are just some that I experienced personally in the last week.

Amongst all the stress, the assignments, the shifts, the noise, remember that you are a top priority. Give yourself as much time as you give everything else on your to-do list.