“My nose is not right or my thighs are too huge or my face is too chubby”, we have said these words to ourselves at least once in our life, wishing to ‘perfect’ our appearance.
As science has developed, people have an option to undergo various procedures to straighten out the perceived ‘imperfections’, even if it is dangerous. However, since it is not an affordable or a viable option for many of us, we often live our lives loathing certain parts of ourselves, leading to critical issues like low self-esteem, high insecurity and also mental health problems like depression or eating disorders.
What is self-love?
For the last few years, we have seen celebrities endorsing ‘self-love’ breaking their mask of ‘perfection’ and showing their insecurities, and how they learned to love themselves. This marked the beginning of an era which challenged the strict dogmas of ‘perfection’.
Self-love is simple and easy to apply, once you start understanding and accepting yourself. You have to love yourself with all your so-called ‘imperfections’ and ignore those who are trying to putting you down on the basis of your appearance.
The cost we pay for our insecurities comes at a high price. Rather than letting them eat away at your happiness, there is a far easier and penniless solution.
How to love yourself?
While the principle may seem very easy, it can be slightly challenging to look at yourself and love yourself to a point that you wouldn’t want to change anything about yourself. It will also be difficult to be consistently confident about your self even in the face of criticism. But, these things can be tackled over a period of time and if you follow these steps, it can help you understand some basic tips on truly loving yourself.
Here are some techniques to stop being insecure
- The first step is to acknowledge that you are unique. Aspects of yourself that makes you stand out, should be embraced. If it doesn’t with the society’s standards of beauty, then focus on that aspect and love that aspect the most, because of its uniqueness.
- Stop comparing yourself to others. Each one of us is different, in looks, talents, and personalities, thus we’re bound to have differences. The sooner we learn to accept them, the easier it will be for us to love ourselves.
- Take a break from social media. Before envying someone, remember that we only post things on social media that we are sure to get appreciated for, it doesn’t mean that people’s lives are actually that perfect. So, instead of being obsessed with social media, taking a break from it can have positive effects on your self-esteem.
- Be optimistic and think positively. Positive thoughts about yourself can not only make you happy but also keep you healthy.
- Find satisfaction within yourself. Learn to find happiness with what and who you are. Set goals to take care of your body and prioritize yourself. If you want to work on yourself, then do that with a positive motivation instead of being critical of yourself.
Being insecure due to our appearance is highly common due to so many different standards of beauty in this world, but certain basic tips and thoughts can help you deal with that insecurity in a healthy manner.