There’s an assortment of articles about helping us build healthy relationships with our partners and loved ones. But we don’t hear nearly as much about the most important relationship in our lives: the one with ourselves.
As writer and photographer Susannah Conway said, “Your relationship with yourself is the foundation of everything.”
“A healthy self-relationship is the ability to value yourself as a person, and embrace your strengths and weaknesses,” said Julie Hanks, LCSW, a therapist and blogger at Psych Central. She’s realized that her strengths and weaknesses are two sides of the same coin. “I am a passionate and creative person and with those strengths comes the tendency to be disorganized and emotionally overwhelmed,” she said.
“It means simply considering yourself, every day,” Duffy said. That consideration includes self-care, self-respect, goodwill and self-love, he said.
Regardless of whether you’re used to extending love and kindness your way, you can build and bolster that healthy bond. These are six ideas on cultivating a good relationship with yourself.
- Care for your needs.
[…] getting enough sleep and rest, eating nutrients and exercising.
- Joy is important.
“Prioritize the activities that bring you joy and fill your emotional reserves,” […]
- Focus on your inner world.
[…] “What am I feeling? What am I thinking?”
Also, consider the why behind your behavior, thoughts and feelings. […]
- Regularly make time for yourself. […]
- Meditate. […]
- Be your own best friend.
“Any time you hear the negative put-downs swirling around your head, think about what you’d say to your best friend or sister or daughter, and then rewrite the script with love,” Conway said.
Again, cultivating a positive relationship with yourself is the building block for your whole world. As Hanks said, “It’s crucial to have a great relationship with ourselves because it’s the only relationship that you are guaranteed to have every day of your life!”