Before anybody else can love you, you need to learn to love yourself first. But what does it mean to actually love yourself?

We may find it easier to love others than to love ourselves. When times get tough, we're truly awful to ourselves, subjecting our minds to harsh inner critics, toxic mentalities and being with the wrong people.

Regardless of the reasons for your lack of self-love, we want you gorgeous babes to start treating yourself with the respect and love you deserve. You are beautiful, and you are worthy! For our International Women's Day month, we've put together twenty ways to love yourself more. Some are straight-forward, while others are harder. Work these lessons into your weekly routine and build back the self-respect and love you need.

Know yourself

The first step to loving yourself is to know yourself. If you don't know who you are as an individual, how are you to better yourself? Take the time to discover what you believe and values. 

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Work on self-trust

A fantastic way to show yourself self-love is to trust your instincts. As a person, you are most likely going to know what is best for you mentally and physically, and self-trust is a crucial step to self-love. 

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Take care of yourself

This one seems pretty obvious but taking care of yourself is an essential part of learning how to love yourself babe. Surprisingly not a lot of people do it. Taking care of yourself means bettering the chances of improving self-confidence. 

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Make a list of your accomplishments

Making a wish list of what you've achieved every day or every week is a fantastic way to fall in love with yourself. Making a list quantifies the positive experiences and achievements, encouraging you to find happiness in what you accomplished. 

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Give yourself a break

If you can, put aside 30 minutes of your time to completely zone out and relax. Having a break from the chaos of work, social life and everyday stress is a simple step to self-love and a positive mental attitude. Pick up your favourite novel, meditate and have a relaxing bubble bath. Let your mind recharge. 

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Make a vision board

Visualising your personal goals is an excellent way to feel excited about your future. It's easier to picture a goal if you have something more tangible in front of you. Focus on your dreams and start to love your life!

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Say “no” when you need to

Sometimes we find ourselves doing too much for other people. We like to please other people. Although this is an admirable trait, you shouldn't light yourself on fire to keep others warm. By trying our best to please others, we can forget to look after ourselves sometimes. Learn to say no and focus on yourself when you feel overwhelmed. 

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Be truly present

Our lives are filled with unnecessary distractions. Although many things are fun and worthwhile, they can also be draining and mentally taxing. Step back from the hustle and bustle and take a deep breath to re-centre yourself. 

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Don’t compare yourself to others

Your peers and friends aren't better or worse, more or less than you. They're different, and so are you. This isn't a bad thing. Value yourself as you accept the good and bad quirks of others. 

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Be honest with yourself

This is key in all relationships, including the relationship with yourself. We can be so good at self-deception that we don't even know we're doing it. You can't love yourself properly if you're continually lying or making excuses to yourself. True self-love means taking responsibility for your actions. 

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Know and promote your strengths

Everyone has their talents, but many of them go unnoticed if we don't promote them. When you're too busy or distracted, it's hard to access these great qualities. Focus on showcasing your strengths to increase your positive mental attitude. 

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Let yourself off the hook for your mistakes/imperfections

You're hard on yourself. Cut yourself some slack and embrace your flaws. Flaws make you human, and imperfections are what make you unique. Look at mistakes as lessons designed to push you forward towards your goals. 

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Make fun a priority for you

Try to work in something fun into your weekly routine. Don't neglect or cancel it because you have too much work on your hands. You need rest and down time in order to feel good.

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Work on forgiving yourself

We sometimes hold onto more significant regrets. Self-forgiveness is a bit-by-bit process of believing you did the best you could. Hindsight is 2020, which is why it's entirely unfair for on yourself to judge the past you with the knowledge you have now. 

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Feel your feelings

Being in touch with your emotions is an integral part of you we are. We can't be an authentic person without acknowledging your feelings, the good and the bad. Don't shy away from uncomfortable emotions like sadness, anger or despair. Denying them is the same as denying a part of yourself. Healthily express them. 

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Stand up for yourself

Like setting boundaries, being assertive is a way of demonstrating to others that your opinions and needs to others. Self-care means you know your value and can confidently communicate to others.

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Write yourself your own love letter

This may seem like a difficult assignment, but it challenges you to identify all the things you love about yourself. 

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Ask help when you need it

Another important lesson in self-care is recognising when you need help. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness. It's human. 

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Speak kindly to yourself

Talk to yourself as if you're talking to a loved one. Don't pull yourself down or criticise yourself. 

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Surround yourself with kind, good people

The people who you spend time with reflects how you feel about yourself. People who are confident and possess self-worth surround themselves with positive people. Loving yourself means you have to end relationships with toxic peers.