5 Ways To Have a Better Relationship With Yourself
If asked, “Who is the most important person in your life?” how many of you would say yourself? More often than not, most of us neglect the relationship we have with ourselves — which severely impacts our emotional and mental well-being! Therefore, it’s crucial to implement these five effective ways to develop a better relationship with ourselves.
1. Invest Time into Emotional and Physical Self-Care
Investing time into your emotional well-being and physical appearance is an act of self-respect, and should not be seen as a negative form of selfishness. Without proper self-care and the consistent supervision of one’s emotions and body, you put yourself at risk for developing depression and anxiety and weaken your immune system, thus making you more susceptible to suffering illness and pain.
2. Only Speak to Yourself with Kindness, Understanding, and Love
You erode your self-worth and self-confidence if you speak to yourself with anger, bitterness, and inferiority. It takes more courage to treat yourself with kindness rather than hatred because it’s difficult for us to imagine that we have worth. The truth is, we do, and convincing ourselves otherwise can lead us down the path of developing severe depression and using self-harm as a way to cope with it.
3. Confront your bad habits and vices
Bad habits and vices deteriorate the quality our health, whether we like to acknowledge that fact or not. Whether you have a habit of smoking cigarettes when stressed, or partake in something extreme, such as an alcohol addiction, these things prevent us from authentic self-improvement and deteriorate the quality of our health. Take steps to overcome them, whether by directing your focus to another activity that is positive and uplifting, or enrolling yourself in a therapy or rehabilitation program.
4. Seek More Opportunities to Grow
Learn new skills and knowledge to continuously satiate your curiosity and maintain the healthiness of your brain. Push the boundaries of your comfort zone and engage in mentally stimulating activities. Doing so improves overall cognitive function. Who knows? You might feel more comfortable exploring things you otherwise may have brushed aside, such as a new hobby or experience. The world is full of endless and exciting possibilities, and you should seek to enrich your life as much as possible. Don’t become stagnate and close-minded!
5. Spend More Time in Solitude
While the idea of alone time seems like an impossible notion, you must be assertive in dedicating part of your day to it, even for just five minutes. This period of solitude is crucial for your well-being because it is the time when you can decompress from the stress around you, focus on the state of your mind and body, and pursue personal hobbies and passions that deserve your attention. Furthermore, you strengthen yourself psychologically, since solitude improves memory quality, reinforces motivation, and heightens self-awareness.
At the end of the day, the person you need to rely on ultimately is yourself. The lack of a strong and healthy relationship with yourself makes you more likely to be crippled by negative forces, outside criticism, and doubt. But when you love, respect, and trust yourself unconditionally, you will feel unstoppable and willing to accomplish goal after goal, and never stop growing as a person.