10 Surprising Acts Of Self Love

I bang on about the usual self love acts often – repeating affirmations, meditating, eating wholefoods, lying in the sun etcetera etcetera – but there are plenty of other ways to shower yourself with love that you may not initially consider to be doing the job. There are certain acts that you may brush off as insignificant and discredit because of their simplicity.

Here are 10 of those acts:

1. Pay attention to your finances: Money is something that until very recently scared the bejesus out of me. Numbers have just never been my thing. But then I heard Kate Northrup talking about how being responsible for your money is an extreme act of self care. I realised that she is totally right! Like anything else in our lives, the numbers in our bank account need love and attention in order to grow.

2. Listen to your intuition: It always has your best interests in mind, and the more you listen to it, the stronger it will get.

3. Make decisions based on what brings you the most happiness: This sounds simple in theory, but too often our decisions are swayed in favour of justifications other than our own happiness. Choosing in favour of your happiness is like sending a potent love message to yourself.

4. Don’t feel guilty for making decisions based on what makes you happy: The guilt will un-do any do-gooding that your happiness-based decision-making did. (Whoa, that’s a tongue twister)

5. Act out of love, not fear: This is something I learnt from the incredibly wise Anita Moorjani (click here for parts one and two of my interview with her). Don’t do things because you are scared of what will happen if you don’t do them. Only do things out of a solid love and respect for yourself.

6. Get yourself a new tea bag: The thrifty side of you may think it is smart to get more than one use out of a tea bag, but I’m here to say that you are worth a new freaking tea bag every time you have a cuppa. It tastes so much better.

7. Stand up for yourself (even when it will piss people off): We all need to have our own back. Shrinking in the face of opposition will only tell yourself that you are less than whoever is in front of you.

8. Forgive yourself: No matter what you do, no matter how much you regret something, no matter how disappointed you are in yourself – always, always, always forgive yourself freely. Brush it off as an important lesson and focus on all of the good you are creating.

9. Value your own opinion: Whether it’s to do with work, romance, or even the new shoes you just bought; stop seeking approval and validation from those around you. You already have all of the answers inside you, so start trusting yourself.

10. Live in the moment: This one is powerful. When we live in the moment, we cannot dwell on the past or worry about the future – we are completely okay with however we are showing up. It is impossible to wish for anything else when you are completely present – and this kind of contentment is the ultimate act of loving yourself for exactly where and who you are.

In my opinion, self love is the most important of all of our wellness acts. Everything positive stems from garnering a deep inner respect for yourself. You make healthy choices, you become a delight to be around, you have more positivity to express on others, and life just seems to flow with more ease. You recognise more blessings, and are therefore given more in return. If everyone practiced self love like it is the advantage that it is, this world would be amazing.