What you tell yourself, you will start to believe. This is something that I have come to realize in recent years. When you start pointing out your flaws and bringing up every little mistake that you make, you’re constantly bringing yourself down. As I have gotten older, I have realized the importance of self-love and self-care. I may not know everything, but one thing I know for sure is that speaking negatively about yourself is absolutely going to lower your self confidence. I know this because I have done it to myself too many times to count, and if I am being honest, I still do it from time to time. While I do think that it is important to recognize our faults (because NO ONE is perfect), we have to work on telling ourselves why we are great, too. It is so much easier to point out our flaws than to recognize the things we love about ourselves, but we have to try.
Our mental health is just as important as our physical health. We see many people talking about fitness and how they take care of their bodies, which is important, but what we don’t often see is people talking about how they take care of their minds. I recently told a friend of mine that I believe we have two voices in our heads. We have a friend, and we have an enemy. The enemy is loud, rude, and self deprecating. The friend is kind, loving, and caring. You are both of these people, and you get to decide who to listen to every day. It’s sort of like when you’re watching a cartoon, and there’s an angel and a devil on the characters shoulders. I promise you, if you listen close enough, the friend is whispering to you. Block out the negative, and focus on the positive.
I wanted to share some of the ways that I have been keeping my mind a comforting and kind place to be, and working toward confidence and self-love. (I don’t do these things EVERY DAY, but I definitely should, and so should you! Some of them you could even do throughout the day.) I like to start my days off with positivity. I am a morning person, and I am often in a pretty good mood when I wake up, so I keep the positivity going by telling myself that it is going to be a great day, and that “I’ve got this!” I also like to compliment myself on whatever I am feeling good about on that particular day. It may feel a bit silly to look in the mirror and compliment yourself, but it is worth it! On days when I planned to get to the gym but I am just not feeling it, I tell myself, “you’re going to kill this workout,” and when I walk out of the gym I realize how powerful our thoughts really are. This is not always an easy thing to do though, because I am not ALWAYS in a great mood or feeling my best. Sometimes you’re running late, or you forgot your wallet at home, or you’re going through some kind of internal dilemma. Whatever it is, this can negatively affect your mood and your entire day. It is 100% OK to have bad days. Let yourself feel whatever it is that you’re feeling, but once that day is over, work on doing better tomorrow.
Recently I started school again, and I have to say that I am feeling a bit stressed and tired, and this negatively affects my mood. Obviously getting enough sleep is something that you should prioritize, but it is something I am still working on. One way I like to stay positive and happy during the stressful school year is something I decided to do recently. Every morning, my best friend and I started to tell each other the positives about our days. For example, one day my positive may be that I am wearing a new outfit that I feel great in, or it’s a sunny and gorgeous day out, or my class was canceled (no one knows the joy of getting that email like college students do). By doing this, you are stating the things are already great about your day before it really even begins. Another small thing that I wanted to mention is that sometimes in the mornings I will get out of bed and as I get ready for the day, I will play some of my current favorite songs to boost my mood. (On days when I have to wake up a little too early or I am running late, I will most likely not do this, but I have noticed that I feel much happier and more awake when I do!)
Something that I have been trying to do every morning is stretching. Stretching in the morning will wake up and calm your body and your mind. If you just take a few minutes to do this every day, it can benefit you in more ways than you think! I also love to eat right when I wake up, so making a delicious and healthy breakfast is important to me. If you are not a breakfast person, try to eat something small but still healthy and filling.
You have the power to choose how your day goes. You get to decide what you say and sometimes how you feel. You don’t always have control over the things that happen to you, but choosing how you react to it is important. If you choose to be bitter and angry at the world every day, you may not get to experience the joy that you could feel if you simply decided to be happy or positive. I want to challenge those of you reading this to start your days with kindness to yourself. There is always something good in every single day, so look for the positive and give yourself one compliment. Putting yourself in this mindset can really make your day so much better. I know the power of my mind, and I know what to do to let myself have a good day. The hard part is sticking to it, but once you do, you’ll want to do it every day. One small, positive thought can completely turn your day around and there are so many simple ways to take care of yourself that don’t cost a thing. I have been working on doing these things daily, and I have noticed great changes in my mood and my overall mindset.
I just wanted to share this quick message to remind you to love yourself and to always be kind to yourself. Just do the best that you can! Thank you for reading, and I would appreciate it if you shared this post with your friends and remind those that you love to take care of themselves as well! Until next time!
I am not sure who originally said this quote, but it is something that I think about often, and I wanted to share it with you:
“You live most of your life inside of your head. Make sure it’s a nice place to be.”
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