Valentine’s Day is probably our favorite holiday on the calendar! But we tend to celebrate it a little differently cause we’re all about focusing on self-love. 💕 We believe in the importance of self-love so much for all of our curly girls, we even put it in our name!
LUS (Love Ur Self) stands for “Love Ur Self.” And we mean it!
WHAT DO WE MEAN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SELF LOVE?
There’s so much hype around the concept of self-love that sometimes its true meaning can get lost in the shuffle. That’s why we wanted to share five of our favorite ways to practise self-love — think of these as practices that will help you to grow and maintain a positive sense of self.
5 Tips for Loving Ur Self
1. DON'T COMPARE UR SELF TO OTHERS
We want you to take a minute to look in the mirror. Just take yourself in! We mean every single curl, wrinkle, and freckle. You are truly unique and beautiful! So why would you compare yourself to anyone else?
While we love social media just as much as any other curly girl out there, it’s important to not get so caught up in what your friends, celebrities, or favorite influencers are doing that you start to devalue what you’ve got going on! The pressure to keep up with what we see online can really have you down in the dumps if you feel like you aren’t measuring up.
Sometimes it’s best to log off and focus on finding your own source of fulfillment. Having a hard time figuring out where to start? Try starting your day by writing in a gratitude journal rather than reaching for your phone. All you have to do is think of five things every day that you are grateful for in your life, write them down, and keep track. This may sound like pure cheese, but trust us, it works!
It may be a little difficult at first, but if you keep at it, you’ll get the hang of it, and you’ll even start looking forward to the moments in the day where you get to celebrate all of the things you have.
2. DON'T BE TOO HARD ON UR SELF
Like most people, you have may have started the new year with a few resolutions. So, be honest! How are you doing?
If keeping your resolutions has been a breeze, that’s amazing! But if, like many others, you’re struggling to keep up with your goals, don’t get down on yourself. It doesn’t matter if your goal is to start working out, eat cleaner, or save more money — changing habits is hard! It’s okay to make mistakes; we’ve all slept through our early morning gym alarm or had to restart a diet after a few days! Try adjusting your strategy for staying on track, perhaps writing out smaller steps and achievements you can tackle one at a time.
True success isn’t linear, so trust the process, and don’t beat yourself up if you drop the ball. Just pick it up and keep juggling, girl. You got this!
3. BE REAL WITH UR SELF
It can be pretty hard to love yourself if you don’t really spend any time getting to know who you are. So, make sure you set aside time to look inward and honestly evaluate your priorities, mindset, and behaviour.
It’s kind of like when you take your car into the mechanic and they run a diagnostic check, only you’re running a diagnostic on you!
Keep in mind, the key here is to be honest with yourself. Are you happy with the way things are going at home, at work, at school, etc.? If so, that’s great! If not, it may be time to make a few changes. And what better time than right now?
Just be mindful of one thing: the only thing you really have control over is you! So, while we sometimes come across negative situations and even negative people, we should also evaluate what and how we contribute to these sort of encounters. As you approach problems, keep your own values and beliefs top of mind when considering how to react and respond. Are your actions and words aligning with the kind of person you aspire to be? If not, that is the perfect place to make a change.
4. ACCEPT THAT UR NOT FOR EVERYONE
You are amazing, with tons of great qualities to offer the world. That’s something to truly celebrate! However, don’t forget that no matter how amazing you are, you still won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. Nobody is. 💁🏽♀️
And you know what? That’s okay! The most important person that needs to love you is you! As long as you’re doing your best to be mindful and considerate of yourself first and then the closest people in your life, don’t let the fact that you don’t vibe with everyone you encounter keep you up at night.
5. BELIEVE THAT UR WORTHY OF LOVE
It sounds simple enough, but this concept can be difficult to fully embrace — and it’s the foundation for truly practicing self-love!
You are worthy of love. Plain and simple! Not quite there yet? We get it! It can sometimes take a minute (or years) for it to really sink in because it can require a big change in perspective.
Believing you’re worthy of love is all a part of the journey! Learning to love and accept all of what makes you YOU is a marathon, not a sprint.
Think of the relationships in your life and the kind of love you have for your partner, friends, or family. When it comes to the people you care about the most, we bet you can list all the things you enjoy about them while recognizing that each of those people is flawed in their own ways. And yet, don’t you still love them wholeheartedly anyway?
This is the kind of love you need to extend to yourself. Like most relationships, there will be ups and downs, good days and bad, but they don't have to break you. While there might always be things you may want to change or improve, you are allowed to be a work-in-progress and still love yourself to the fullest extent.
Practise Self Love!
Put the idea out of your mind that you need the perfect hair, the perfect relationship, the perfect family, job, or home to feel content and happy with yourself. You are already equipped with everything you need to start a love affair with yourself that can last a lifetime.
