11 Powerful Ways To to Love Yourself More
What is sef-love? Why is self-love important?
Why do so many of us shrink with embarrassment, guilt, or aversion when we hear the word “self-love?”
Take a few moments to reflect on those questions before you read on.
You might find it surprising that I rolled my eyeballs at the idea of self-love for most of my life. Like many of us, I was conditioned to equate self-love with conceit, self-centeredness, narcissism, and excessive self-interest. Those beliefs were further reinforced in my spiritual community, where “selflessness,” putting others first, and working yourself to the bone were emphasized.
Standard dictionary definitions of self-love routinely included those kinds of negative qualities, without any positives ones, until very recently.
And even now, the Merriam-Webster synonyms for self-love include mostly negative ones like:
Big head
Conceit
Ego
Egotism
Pomposity
Pride
Pridefulness
Self-Admiration
Self-Importance
Self-Satisfaction
Smugness
Swelled head
Vanity
You’ll probably agree, these negative qualities represent an unhealthy, distorted form of self-love. Nevertheless, you may still carry powerful social conditioning that makes you contract at the mention of self-love, and hesitate to engage in self-love practices.
It can be hard to shake such strong negative associations, even though self-love is essential to our healing, personal, and spiritual growth.
Whatever your conditioning, I want to invite you to step up and embrace self-love. Because we live in scary times, when it’s not unusual for young people, especially girls, to suffer from drastically low self-esteem; some actually hate themselves. So much so, they engage in self-mutilating behaviors, suffer from eating disorders, turn to addictions, look to others for affirmation of their worth, and get into codependent or abusive relationships.
The more you can model a healthy sense of self-love, the more you’ll encourage young people who struggle with theirs.
But that might take some work on your part, because so many adults also operate from subconscious patterns rooted in a lack of self-love. Could that be you?
What Is Self Love?
To practice self-love, you need to know what it is. If you confuse it with a gooey, romantic feeling when you look in the mirror, you’ll miss the point.
So let’s break it down.
I like the way Christine Arylo, author of Madly In Love With Me, The Daring Adventure of Becoming Your Own Best Friend [affiliate link] describes self-love as a tree with self-worth as its trunk and 10 additional qualities comprising its branches.
Arylo says that self-love is not any single one of those qualities (listed below), but a “vibration” that comes about when all those qualities are alive and active in one’s being.
If you find the word “vibration” too woo-woo, substitute “a feeling.” I like the word “vibration,” however, because it describes not just an inner emotion but also a feeling that you exude to others, to the world.
Let’s start with Arylo’s brief definition of self-love, and then we’ll look at the self-love tree, it’s trunk, and it’s 10 branches.
“Self-love is the unconditional love and respect that you have for yourself that is so deep, so solid, so unwavering that you choose only situations and relationships - including the one you have with yourself that reflect that same unconditional love and respect.” - Christine Arylo
What do you think of Arylo’s definition of self-love? Does it resonate for you?
Arylo suggests that you spend some time with it. Repeat it to yourself three times, in the “I” form. Repeat it slowly, hold your hand on your heart if you wish, and allow its meaning to sink deeply into your being.
“Self-love is the unconditional love and respect that I have for myself that is so deep, so solid, so unwavering that I choose only situations and relationships - including the one I have with myself that reflect that same unconditional love and respect.”
Try it out right now, if you feel ready. How does it feel to say these words to yourself? What would it be like to have that level of unconditional love for yourself?
If you don’t resonate with Arylo’s short definition of self-love, that’s okay. Take some time to write one for yourself, one you feel you can embrace and adapt as a way of life.
11 Powerful Ways to Love Yourself
Arylo describes her Self-Love Tree as the totality of self-love represented by all the loving qualities and actions indicated on the trunk and the 10 branches. These qualities are both distinct and synergistic. They are not fluffy practices, but the most essential and powerful ways you can love yourself.
The Trunk is Self-Worth
According to Arylo, the 10 Branches of the Self-Love Tree include:
Self-Awareness and Self-Honesty
Self-Acceptance
Self-Care
Self-Compassion and Self-Forgiveness
Self-Trust
Self-Esteem
Self-Empowerment
Self-Expression
Self-Respect and Self-Honor
Self-Pleasure
These are my own descriptions for each of the 11 qualities of self-love:
Self-Worth means knowing that you are valuable simply because you exist. It means valuing yourself and knowing that you are enough, irrespective of the opinions or views of others.
Self-Awareness and Self-Honesty means you are willing to get to know yourself fully - your values, your believes, your wishes, your vision - and to live your life based on who you truly are. That means knowing who you are and who you are not. It means practicing self-awareness each day. It also means you accept responsibility for the impact of your thoughts, words, and actions on yourself, on others, and on the world.
Self-Acceptance means accepting yourself just as you are, including your weaknesses, quirks, and difficult parts, without judgment, comparison, or envy of others. It means actively taking the time to appreciate and acknowledge yourself often.
Read More: How to Accept Yourself No Matter What
Self-Care means a commitment to look after your needs - physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual - on a daily basis so you can lead a healthy and happy life. It means you help others from an overflowing well rather than an empty one.
Self-Compassion and Self-Forgiveness means being kind to yourself, even when you make mistakes. It means speaking gently to yourself and sending yourself unconditional love to heal your emotional wounds. It means accepting your human frailties with a tender heart. It means forgiving yourself for your mistakes and imperfections.
Self-Trust means a willingness to listen to and follow your inner voice, your intuition, and your instincts, regardless of what others say. It means trusting that you know what’s true for you better than anyone else. You remain open to feedback, but you make your final decisions based on what you know to be true for you.
Self-Esteem means you believe in yourself, you hold yourself in high regard, and you feel confident you can achieve your goals.
Self-Empowerment means taking charge of your life, the knowingness that you and only you are the creator of your life, and the determination to create the life you truly want.
Self-Expression means the honest expression of your feeling, thoughts, and ideas; the willingness to allow people see the real you.
Self-Respect and Self-Honor means speaking about yourself in a respectful way, making choices aligned with your true self, and setting healthy personal boundaries.
Self-Pleasure means allowing joy into your life, in the forms that most nourish you.
You can get a visual of the Self Love Tree and read Christine Arylo’s description of the tree, it’s trunk and it’s branches when you download her free Self-Love Kit. You’ll also have access to a Self-Love Assessment and the Self-Love Tree Meditation.
After reflecting on the Self-Love Tree, I had an “aha” moment. I realized that these 11 qualities of self-love are synonymous with a healthy person.
And that’s why self-love is so important. Without self-love, you’ll never really feel whole or experience a deep, more enduring sense of contentment, peace, and joy.
Read More: Self-Love: Why Should It Matter to You?
I wrote the above post long before I read Christine Arylo’s book, but I intuited many of the same qualities she included in her Self-Love Tree. That tells me there’s something universal about the qualities that make up a person who radiates healthy self-love.
Create Your Own Path to Greater Self-Love
You can use the Self-Love Tree to create your own path to greater self-love.
Look at each branch in turn. Is it strong, does it need some work, or has it been abandoned? You can rate where you’re at with each branch/quality using a 1-10 scale.
But remember, be kind to yourself. If you find you have weak branches, you’re not alone, most people do. If you find you have strong branches, appreciate and acknowledge yourself.
Now make a list of specific steps you’ll take to strengthen one or more self-love qualities over the next month. At the end of the month, come back to your self-love tree and assess where you’re at. Then make a new set of self-love commitments for the next 30 days.
If you need more inspiration on your self-love journey, check out:
Remember:
Self-love is a practice. It takes time, focus, and commitment. It doesn’t happen overnight. If you make mistakes or fall back into old patterns, as we all do, keep loving yourself.
Self-love is a journey. No one starts out with perfect self-love. Accept where you are on the journey, appreciate your self-love strengths, and keep growing the weaker branches of your Self-Love Tree.
Self-love is not selfish. When you love yourself, you naturally radiate warmth to others. You’re able to give from a full well, without resentment. You model healthy self-love to others as well.
I appreciate Christine Arylo’s Self-Love Tree because it explains self-love in detail and provides a roadmap for increasing your self-love and as a result, becoming a healthier and happier person.
But the most important thing is to find a self-love definition that works for you - one you feel you can embrace fully. Then put it into action and increase your self-love more and more each day. No one deserves your love more than you.
Your Turn!
What did you discover when you looked at the 11 qualities of self-love? Which ones are strong for you? Which ones would you like to develop? Please share in the comments. I would love to hear from you.
Thank you for your presence, I know your time is precious! Don’t forget to sign up for Wild Arisings, my twice monthly letters from the heart filled with insights, inspiration, and ideas to help you connect with and live from your truest self. Subscribers receive access to the Always Well Within Library of free self-development resources.
And if you would like to support Always Well Within, buy my Living with Ease course or visit my Self-Care Shop. May you be happy, well, and safe – always. With love, Sandra