Self-Love and Dealing with Self-Doubt

Self-love? A big yes! Self-doubt? Needless to say, the answer will always be no! 

Loving ourselves is the most important thing, but we keep forgetting to do it, right? Let’s face it, in this constantly changing and growing world, oftentimes we forget to look within ourselves and accept ourselves for who we are. 

We're so loving and caring towards the people who matter in our lives. We always wish the best for them and make sure they are happy and at peace. When they're in trouble, we give our best in helping them in whatever way we can and being a shoulder for them to lean on. We assure them that we always have their back, no matter what. But when it comes to dealing with our problems, we're a little too hard on ourselves.

 We become extremely self-critical, which can damage the image we have of ourselves. Will it help us in being loving and caring towards ourselves? Definitely not. Are there ways we can be kind and gentle with ourselves? Yes. We’ve heard umpteen times that if we show the same love and affection to our souls, as we do to our loved ones, we would encourage ourselves to cross the hurdle in front of us, however huge it might seem to be. But how exactly do we achieve this? Let me share some of the things that help me deal with self-doubt. 

Writing down whatever it is that I’m feeling at that moment

Whenever I feel overwhelmed about things, be it anything, I prefer writing it all out. It gives me clarity on how the situation at hand can be dealt with. Writing down can mean writing it down on paper, in a book (or your journal), or even on your phone’s notepad. I believe that doing so can help us gain proper insight about what exactly it is that we’re feeling, and help us figure out ways to tackle the issue.  

Not forgetting that I am my own worst critic

When our loved ones are feeling low and have doubts about themselves, we tell them to believe in themselves and to let go of self-doubt. Come on, we know that we’re trying to make them feel better, but deep down, we face similar issues as well. Often, out of all the people who criticize us, we end up being our worst critic. When we start being highly critical of ourselves, we need to find a new perspective. We can do so by talking to the people we’re close to about how we’re feeling. We can ask them to let us know what they like about us. This small action not only assists us in changing our way of thinking but also helps us to see the good qualities we possess, through the words of the people we trust, which in turn would make it easier to be kinder with ourselves. 

Taking a walk outside with my favourite music, or doing any physical activity which I love

Any form of physical activity triggers a release of serotonin and dopamine (the happy hormone). For me, it has proven to be true. Even a simple walk with my favourite music, for about 30 minutes to an hour, helps in boosting my mood and the way I feel about myself. When we engage ourselves in any kind of physical activity, it gives us a sense of accomplishment, which then acts as a driving force to believe in ourselves and bid adieu to self-doubt.

Knowing that self-love is not linear and that it’s totally alright

At first, self-love can feel really good as well as messy. One moment, we are filled to the brim with confidence and self-love. The next moment, we feel like we're not worthy enough. It's okay to feel that way. What matters the most is how quickly we bounce back to loving ourselves and show our inner critic the strength we've got! 

Let’s try our best not to push the pause button on self-love, no matter how tough it gets. Remember that regardless of who is there for us and who isn’t, we have to be there for ourselves.