To love yourself,
Take yourself on a date.
Write and post a letter to yourself.
Find your passion, and act on it.
If someone asks you who is the love of your life, what would your answer be? It won't be wrong to guess that most of us would begin thinking of some person, probably someone very close to our heart.
Now another question. What all would you do to make that person happy? (Oh, by the way, let's be practical, none of us is a superhuman here). So, maybe you would plan a surprise, buy that person a gift - an expensive something he/she always wanted, fulfill some old wish, and so on and so forth. But how many of us would want to do such exciting things for our own selves?
If you do, or at least wish to give it a try, you will experience a smile coming onto your face. There lies the answer to the question whether you love yourself or not. Help yourself with the following list of nine signs, to see whether you fall in the category of self-lovers.
Signs That You Love Yourself
Love is considered to be the highest of all positive emotions. Loving oneself directs our emotions to an optimistic way of life. It helps keep the mind, body, and soul happy and balanced. Many of us have understood this secret, and are happy to express our love for ourselves. Here's how such people do it. You are in love with yourself if...
#1 You Want to Hug Yourself Often
Here's to my favorite! Mwah! Now that's a toast to someone special, to YOU. If you feel it is simply mandatory to like your own personality, at all costs, you are in. Done with others. This time it's 'me' that I have fallen for. If you've hugged yourself at least once, you know how awesome it feels when you don't fit into your own arms, but like it to be that way. Of course, with your head tilted and a cute smile to go with it!
#2 You Look into the Mirror and are Happy
Admiration for oneself is one of the primary rules for loving yourself. If you like looking into the mirror, and that image on the other end gives you a happy feeling, you can be sure of your love for your true self. An early morning, sleepy face, a tired face with no make-up, or a soft gaze at your own eyes; whatever be the expression and the time of the day.
#3 You Enjoy Your Own Company
It's just perfect to have ME in my life.
There are some who love being all by themselves. Get a book to read, go for a trail, put on some music that suits and soothes your mood, paint your imagination, pen down every small feeling into words, cook yourself an awesome delicacy for a change; the list can go on forever. If you do one or many of these things, it seems you enjoy your own company, and there is nothing wrong with it, AT ALL.
#4 You Honor Yourself
'If you love him/her, you first need to have some respect for that person'. This is a common advice we either tend to give or receive when trying to help others with issues in relationships and marriages. And it appears to be true too. So, if you think you really do love yourself, in this case too, respecting oneself comes first. Honoring your feelings, your life, and your personality is the same as being able to love the person in you. Things like age, gender, color, race, success in life, financial status, or such meager aspects matter the least. As it is said, regard yourselves well, so that the world too regards you well in return.
#5 You Take Good Care of Yourself
Button up your overcoat, when the wind is free,
Oh, Take good care of yourself, you belong to me!You must have heard this song. You should know when and how you need to be treated. Do anything that helps you relax; take a long, deep breath, and forget everyday worries. If you feel you know when it's time for some pampering, you sure know yourself better than the world! Do some kind of regular exercise, practicing yoga, meditation, or a visit to the spa, and several other ways to treat yourself once in a while.
#6 You Think You Know Yourself
I found me. I wanna be ME.
Happy at work, happy with what you're doing? That means you know what you like doing, and you know who you are. When you feel that sense of satisfaction with life, you know that you know yourself. Or at least, you have started in that direction. Have you ever looked at your hands, feet, nails, and body? Just like that, for the sake of looking at it! Try it once, and you will begin to love your body, because you would realize that you are much more than just that. Because it is you, the body is yours, it serves you. You feel grateful for it. Appreciate it. This way, you know you are beautiful.
#7 You Accept Yourself, as You Are
Need to buy me some new clothes. Oh wait! Laundry.
Meet me! This is who I am. You know what you are great at, and... well, there are a lot of things you can be bad at. But, if you still manage to praise yourself after cooking yourself a meal, without any resultant accidental preparation, OR, after finding some tiny thing in your bag when you needed it the most, OR, after being able to find the perfect pair of earrings to go with a dress, right in your closet, OR, after any such huge accomplishment, then,
you surely are a deep admirer of the self. On a serious note, acceptance of the self is a basic feat achieved when you learn to love yourself, with all flaws (inherited, right?)
#8 You Make Your Own Choices
Have you ever tried wearing a different, non-matching pair of shoes? Only because you wanted to? If yes, you get a point added to your score. You don't take decisions to make others feel good, but do things for your own sake. You can refuse to go to a party, because you needed to get some good sleep over the weekend, and you are completely fine with it. People like these are just different. They listen to their heart. They do only what they want to. And, there is no good or bad about it; that's just a way for them to express their love for a real SOULmate.
#9 You Gift Yourself a Vacation
Last, but not at all the least, this in fact testifies as the best way to prove that one really loves oneself. It is often a wish of many to plan a vacation, where... still only some can actually make those wishes come true. If you have visited a country, state, gone for an adventure sport outing, or simply gone out into nature, to do justice to what you sensed within you, you would top the list of people who are in love with themselves. Because, if you've been there and done that, only you know how you have changed YOUR perception about YOU.
Just to sum it up all, we know that guilt doesn't do any good to anyone, but love might. Don't be under the impression that it's always helping others that makes us happy. Not that it doesn't, but if what matters is making someone happy, then why not yourself for once?
So, what was your score on nine? Feel free to share your secret ways to care for yourself. We hope you feel even better now, for having loved yourself the most. Keep it going!
