Want even more awesome content from our clever writers? Or discounts on our dresses? Make sure you’re signed up for our newsletter!
Lisa didn’t go to University but she likes to think she has a Degree in Life Experience: she’s been a stripper and a dominatrix, an animal care volunteer and a club DJ, she’s also worked for ‘The Man’ and is now taking all that life experience and using it to guide and inspire others. She writes at the-dame.com. You can follow along on Facebook or Twitter!
It’s really important to learn to love yourself. It may be cliché but you cant love someone else until you love yourself first.
What does that mean? It means figuring out what you love about yourself, what makes you cool – IN YOUR eyes.
It IS okay to be nice to yourself and to think nicely of yourself. Ignore those people who say you’re being vain, ignore the voices in your head that tell you that it’s not OK to have nice thoughts about yourself.
I want each of you reading this to give yourself permission to make a list of all the things you like about yourself, all your accomplishments and all the compliments you’ve received. On the daily. Train your brain to pick out the nice things and not the nasty things and soon the nasty things don’t seem so nasty.
The first rule of loving yourself is learning to accept compliments!
How do you feel when you compliment someone and they don’t accept it? Awkward, right? You wouldn’t have said anything to them if you didn’t mean what you were saying. So, how do you think people feel when they give you a compliment and you shove it away or sweep it under the rug?
From now on, do your best to accept compliments graciously. Even if you don’t believe it, say thank you to the person who gave it to you. Compliments are verbal gifts and you should never reject a gift. Everyone loves giving gifts and you need to learn to love receiving them. It is completely OK!
The reason you want to get into an awesome relationship with yourself is so that you don’t get into an unhealthy one with someone else. Unhealthy relationships with other people usually happen because we don’t really like or know ourselves. Disaster!
If you’re not in a relationship, its OK! It’s a perfect time to spend time with yourself. What type of movies do you like? What kind of food do you like? What makes you laugh? What flowers make you happy? Do you like animals and kids? What about long walks on the beach?
Find out all the things about yourself that you would like a loved one in a relationship with you to know. Find out your loves and your limits. But most of all, find out what makes you cool.
This is the important part. When we know what makes us cool, likable and desirable, we don’t settle for someone who doesn’t see it in us. You know what you deserve and you make damn sure the person lucky enough to be with you knows it too.
If you wouldn’t want to date yourself, why would anyone else?
From now on, you have permission to be nice to yourself, to like who you are – including your quirks and your snorting laugh – and to accept compliments. You’re not going to let anyone make you feel bad about yourself. People will treat you how you let them treat you. Show them how to treat you!