Self-Love journal is the perfect way for you to start to build up your self esteem and confidence. Focusing on self-worth is one of the most effective ways to manage your mental health. Having high self esteem greatly improves your mood, your depression and anxiety. Therefore if you haven’t already added self-love journal to your self-care routine, you need to start now!
What Is The Key To Self-Love?
Just like any other kind of love, self-love is hard to explain. True love is unconditional. It means you appreciate and accept yourself as they are.
Self-love is seeing and appreciating our positive qualities and acting in a way that looks after one’s self.
To have self-love means to create balance, find positive ways to think about yourself, and allow yourself to grow in meaningful ways to be content in life.
Practicing self-love is a tool you can use every day to have more control over your happiness and balance in life – to create the life you love.
How Do You Develop Self-Love?
Sometimes anxiety feels like 100 things swirling round in your head….. most of them negative thoughts. It really helps to get these thoughts down on paper. This means you can start to analyze them so they are more organized and become less overwhelming.
Here are some recipes for self-love that are simple in practice and multifaceted in their benefits:
1. Stop comparing yourself to others
We’re socialized to be competitive, so comparing ourselves to others is natural. But it can be dangerous. There’s just no point in comparing yourself to anyone else on the planet because there’s only one you. Rather, focus on yourself and your journey.
2. Don’t worry about others’ opinions
In that same vein, don’t worry about what society thinks or expects of you. You can’t make everyone happy, so this is a waste of time and will only slow you down on your journey to being the best you.
3. Allow yourself to make mistakes
We’re told again and again from a young age “nobody’s perfect, everyone makes mistakes.” But the older you get, the more pressure you feel never to fail. Cut yourself some slack! Make mistakes so you can learn and grow from them. Embrace your past. You’re constantly changing and growing from who you once were into who you are today and who you will be one day.
4. Your value doesn’t lie in how your body looks
This is fundamental! So many things in the world want to distract you from this powerful truth. Sometimes even your own internalized sexism affirms your thoughts of inadequacy. You are valuable because you are you, not because of your body.
Self-love comes when you accept that you are worthy exactly as you are. Not if you lose ten pounds, not if you get that promotion, not when you’re dressed up, not when you’re dressed down, not if or when anything. You just are.
How Do I Use a Self-Love Journal?
How do you keep a journal? Don’t overthink it. Grab a notebook and a pen and carve out 10 to 20 minutes of your day. Pick a journal prompt (or don’t!) and write whatever comes to mind. Self-love journal is about self-exploration so there is no wrong answer.
Just write whatever pops into your head. Ask questions about why you had that thought and write about that. Keep asking questions and go deeper and deeper. That’s all there is to it. Unwrapping the layers through writing.
What Should I Put In My Journal?
You can write about anything! There are loads of topics you can write about.
Sometimes it can be hard to think of things to write when you are just sat in front of a blank page. This is where the self-love journal ideas come in!
- What is your favorite personality trait and why?
- Name three accomplishments in your life and why you are proud of yourself for achieving them.
- How can you bring more joy into your life?
- What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received and how did it make you feel.
- Name five things you’re crazy good at.
- How do you help others in your life?
- What makes a person beautiful?
- Doing what makes you happy?
- If you could give your younger self some advice, what would it be?
- Do you care what people think about you and why?
Have a good look round and find yourself some self-love journal ideas! We often get caught up on if we are journaling “right” but there is no wrong answer in journaling. Our free feeling wheel may be useful for your journaling – try this out.
Even if you don’t feel particularly powerful, think about how far you’ve come, how you’ve survived. You’re here, right now, alive and powerful beyond your knowledge. And be patient with yourself. Self-love may not happen overnight. But with time, it will settle itself into your heart. Self Care Planner Templates also available here, you may struggle, but you’ll look back on these moments and see how they were stepping stones on your journey to being the best you.