3 Ways to Celebrate You: Self Love

No matter what you’re going through in life, it’s important to remember to practice self-kindness and celebrate yourself. Whether you are experiencing tough financial times, struggling to balance home and work life, or feeling emotionally and physically overwhelmed, giving yourself some leeway and praising your own efforts can the key to coming out the other side in one piece. This month we’re all about promoting self-love, and with the COVID-19 pandemic changing the way we are now living around the world, what better time to turn inwards for reflection and to focus on your inner self? Local skincare and wellness brand, Placecol shares a few helpful ways to do just that:

Self-Love

Sometimes the concept of self-love is a little overwhelming. Good advice is to watch your negative thoughts as well as how you speak to yourself. We can be our own ‘worst critic’, worrying about what other people think and often harshly judging the way we look or telling ourselves that we should be so much more. It’s time to turn that around. You are unique and need to appreciate, value and accept yourself for who you are. Embrace yourself fully and treasure every little detail that makes up the ‘unique’ you. Try to make the voice in your head kinder and think about yourself the way you would a close friend whom you love. And don’t forget the little things as well, like spending time in nature, admiring the beauty of a flower or wearing colours and textures, which make your soul sing.

Make Time for Yourself

There’s a lot to be said for taking time for deep reflection and meditation. Meditation is practised all over the world in different ways. It’s a time of pondering, contemplating, deep thinking or prayer, shutting out all the noise around you and actively seeking out stillness. But truly, getting there, Lotus position or not and communing with your inner-self is not always easy, so we often end up just carrying on with the ‘busyness of life’. But in Julia Cameron’s extraordinary book, The Artists Way, she introduces the gentle concept of taking yourself out on an artist’s date. No family, friends or pets. Just you and perhaps a notebook or a plate of delicious food. From there, it’s a just a small step to finding a bit more time for deeper meditation in order to restore your energy, let go of your daily responsibilities and focus on your inner development and spiritual growth. This national lockdown has given us the perfect chance to find that quiet time every day, but when normality kicks back in, let’s keep this going — even once or twice a week for one hour, you’ll never regret taking that time out for you!

Want Better Skin? 3 Things That Can Make a Positive Difference!

Accepting yourself and others

While you are getting more comfortable in accepting and embracing yourself, remember it’s about accepting others too. We all have different preferences and think or act in our own unique way compared to those around us. A little love, patience, respect for others plus open and honest communication will go a long way to helping you find the balance for harmonious relationships with others. And remember, when you let go a little, by accepting yourself, accepting others and not stressing about all those ‘unimportant things’, you will fill your life with grace and peace.