Why Self-Love Should Be Your Priority In 2022

Image credit: Pixabay Source: https://pixabay.com/photos/self-love-heart-diary-hand-keep-3969644/

We’ve faced an extremely challenging two years managing the consequences of the pandemic. Many of us have had the experience of being hemmed into our homes, and felt a myriad of mental health effects from prolonged isolation and unexpected change. Recognizing this as we progress into 2022, our focus should now be directed toward loving our authentic selves.

As has been made clear of late through our "Self-Care Isn't Selfish" webinar series, WFWP actively encourages self-care and the idea of altering our lifestyles to better ourselves. Self-love is slightly different, but equally as important as self-care; it has to do with learning to overcome esteem issues, knowing your worth, and having compassion for yourself, all of which will enable you to make healthy life choices. Being able to offer our most authentic and healthy selves will also, in turn, allow us to give our best to those we surround ourselves with. Thus, taking a little time to make self-love a priority will not only benefit us but also anyone who reaches out for our guidance.

Here’s why we believe that a focus on self-love should be a priority for 2022.
Reduce Your Stress
As briefly touched on above, in order to afford ourselves the care we deserve, we need to practice self-love. In doing so, we can better recognize when to implement changes and take necessary breaks when facing stressful times. If we are not tuned in to our own needs, we are more likely to dismiss the physical and mental signals we notice and try to "power through." While this can be a productive impulse in the short term, and is unfortunately something our society largely encourages, in the long term, it will ultimately lead us to cause greater damage, more pain, and often pure exhaustion.

Love The Skin You Are In
There’s been a significant societal shift over the last few years in how our bodies are represented across the media, with a more inclusive approach being demonstrated through the normalization of all shapes and sizes. Despite this growing body-positivity movement however, many of us still face challenges when it comes to loving our bodies. A most powerful aspect of self-love is to learn to unlock our own inherent wisdom to make healthy choices—physically and emotionally—as comprehensively explored in “Embody: Learning to Love Your Unique Body (and quiet that critical voice!)” by Connie Sobczak. It emphasizes how to utilize self-love to embrace our own health journeys, celebrate our unique beauty as individuals, and find a peaceful relationship with our own bodies. We can defy the urge to feel body-shame and inspire others to do the same. We can initiate a healthier relationship with our bodies and dismantle insecurities surrounding image by rephrasing our inner narratives and refraining from comparing ourselves to others.

Believe In Yourself
We should never resign ourselves to thinking that we cannot achieve more than what we currently have. If what we're living does not align with our aspirations, it's time to start thinking bigger! We can all be held back by the notion that we perhaps do not deserve more or are not worthy of a happier, more satisfying life. Not only is this untrue however, but the truth is that a more satisfying life is often attainable! This is discussed in Best Friends Reviews' blog on "I Heart Me" by David Hamilton, who encourages the alteration of our inner narratives to be kinder to ourselves and discusses how this change can significantly affect how you feel. Applying the same technique to retrain our self-belief systems can potentially pave a new way forward. This concept is also discussed by Adia Gooden, in a TEDx talk on Cultivating Unconditional Self-Worth

Trust Yourself and Build Your Confidence
Learning to be more assertive –– creating our own comfortable boundaries and not allowing others to influence us negatively –– is a critical part of the self-love journey. Putting ourselves first can be an uncomfortable adjustment, but all too often we tend to “people please” to the detriment to our own happiness. We set our own standards, and this teaches others how to treat us. Accordingly, signaling what we feel is acceptable will set our own healthy perimeters so that we can avoid being disrespected or taken advantage of. For these reasons it's important to learn to say "no" without an explanation being required, as is highlighted at the PracticaGal blog; it’s about protecting our time. Each of our time is a precious commodity usually in relatively short supply and we must trust our own ability to decide how it's best spent. Saying no with politeness but resolve is liberating, and this process will enable us to feel empowered and help build confidence… which is essential to self-love!

Thank you for reading. We hope these few examples can start you on your 2022 self-love journey and guide you –– and by extension those around you –– towards a fulfilling and positive year ahead!

Exclusively for Women's Federation for World Peace USA