Forgive Yourself
This might sound self explanatory – but this goes a little bit deeper than forgiving yourself for forgetting to turn the coffee pot off or not unloading the dishwasher in a timely manner.
Instead, we want you to forgive yourself for the *big* things. In fact, we want you to spend at least an hour reflecting on this before you even begin this activity. So dig deep. What’s a mistake that keeps irking you? Is there something you are deeply ashamed of, or afraid will repeat again? Do you feel as if you can trust yourself? What is holding you back?
Sit and reflect with these questions. Once some answers start bubbling up, write a letter to yourself forgiving yourself for anything that you’re having trouble letting go. Tell yourself that you’re human, that you were only trying your best, and that you are capable of learning from your mistakes. Tell yourself that you are actively trying to improve every single day – which is an incredible accomplishment for anyone. Tell yourself that you are on a self-improvement journey and that you’ll only continue to grow and heal with time. And lastly, tell yourself that you are proud of yourself for the person you’ve become, and the person you will be tomorrow.
Once you’ve released all of that negative energy, you’ll notice you’ll start to feel lighter and more open to loving yourself. Self-acceptance isn’t too far off now!
Challenge Self-Limiting Beliefs
Are there things you tell yourself on a daily basis that aren’t true? Do you talk yourself out of certain opportunities because you don’t think you’re good enough? Do you seek out situations to reinforce things about yourself that you don’t like? Do you routinely remind yourself of things you aren’t capable of?
If you answered “yes” to any of the questions – these are clear signs that you have self-limiting beliefs. And it’s time to get rid of them.
To get started, try using the worksheet from You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay. It goes over self-limiting beliefs and ways in which to challenge them. Acknowledging that these self-limiting beliefs are myths, and not fact, is a great place to start. You can also try to find actual proof to disband your limiting beliefs.
For example, if you were to tell yourself “You’re not smart enough” – try and reflect on a time where your intelligence helped you achieve something. Perhaps you scored well on a test, or got into college, or solved a tricky problem at work. No matter how hard you try to tell us otherwise – we *know* there is at least one, if not many, examples that will completely disprove your self-limiting belief. The more you take the time to challenge them with cold, hard facts, the sillier they are going to sound.
Surround Yourself With Good People
Take a quick mental inventory of the people you routinely interact with. Are they nice? Supportive? Kind? Do they cheer you up when you’re being hard on yourself or offer words of encouragement when you’re feeling down? Do they have your back no matter what and remind you that once again – you’re doing the best you can?
If they don’t, then we’re in some trouble.
You need to surround yourself with people who love the holy moly out of you. People who inspire you to love you because, HEY, you can’t be so bad if these people are choosing to spend time with you! You cannot do this work alone. Learning self-acceptance and how to love yourself can be a long, sometimes grueling journey, and you need support to get you there.
If you’re not seeing somebody specifically for this purpose, we highly recommend it. Work with a therapist or a life coach and dedicate an hour per week working with someone who has your best interest at heart. Then, spend time with people who bring out the best in you. The goal is to feel accepted by others and accepted by yourself – so might as well kill two birds with one stone!
If you’re really wanting to undertake the challenge of self-acceptance and learning how to love yourself, you are absolutely in the right place. Blush Life Coaching offers life coaching memberships for as little as $99/mo. Sign up today and get started immediately!
