– This is how you create the best self love routine –

Please note this post may contain affiliate links. If a purchase is made through these links, we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

Are you taking good care of yourself so far in 2024? If you have been struggling with practicing self-care and self-love, you’ll be super glad to have found our post! We’re going to guide you in creating a specially tailored self love routine. Embarking on a journey of self-love is going to empower you. At its core, your journey of self-love is about developing a deep and unconditional connection with yourself. You’re going to be more accepting and appreciative of yourself than you’ve ever been before. Get ready to explore the essential elements of crafting a self-love routine that nourishes your mind, body, and soul!

Self Love | What is it?

Self love is the practice of accepting, respecting, and caring for yourself. It’s all about learning to love who you are, despite your mistakes and imperfections. You may be struggling with the concept of ‘loving yourself’, as it may seem selfish or unnecessary, but trust us – that’s far from the truth (Why Loving Ourselves Is So Hard to Do, Tim Wright, Ph.D.). Practicing self love leads you to build the confidence and energy necessary for all of your other relationships in life.

It’s important that you nurture a positive relationship with yourself, similar to how you would treat a friend or family member. Let’s flip the age-old saying into a new perspective: Treat others the way you want to be treated → Treat yourself the way you would treat others. You are worth your own love!

Important Elements of a Self Love Routine:

Physical health

Exercise

Exercise is a vital element of your self-love routine because it nourishes your body. Building a habit of engaging in regular physical activity improves your cardiovascular fitness, enhances your strength, and helps you maintain a body you are happy with! Exercise triggers the release of endorphins, which are natural mood elevators. So, not only is it good for that body of yours, but also your mental wellbeing. Setting and achieving fitness goals can boost self-esteem and confidence too! By prioritising working out or getting involved in sports, you’re demonstrating this commitment of caring for yourself. That’ll help you foster a sense of self-worth and appreciation for your body and mind.

Food & Drink

Your relationship with food and drink is a crucial aspect of your self-love routine because it directly impacts your physical wellbeing and mental health. Feeding your body with wholesome, balanced meals and staying hydrated supports your energy levels as well as your cognitive function. It’s important to choose nutritious foods on a regular basis, because in the tough times, you know you’ll turn to those naughty snacks for comfort. Fueling yourself with nourishing foods that make you feel good is a great way of practicing self love. Be mindful of your eating habits, practice moderation, and avoiding restrictive or punishing behaviors around food. Aim for your relationship with food to be healthy and enjoyable!

Emotional wellbeing

Understand Your Feelings

Learning to better understand your feelings will be really good for your self love routine. It helps you build emotional intelligence and improve self-awareness, which are both important for your overall wellbeing. Taking the time to acknowledge and identify your emotions is incredibly important in your journey. The more in tune you are with your emotions, the easier it is to process them. You can respond to challenges and stressful situations in healthier ways, rather than reacting on impulse or suppressing your feelings. Foster a more loving and supportive relationship with yourself by validating your negative emotions and embracing the positive ones!

Reflection

Reflection is an element of your self love routine that must not be skipped. It can provide the perfect opportunity for introspection and personal growth. This part of yours self love routine allows you to pause, evaluate your experiences, revisit your thoughts, feelings, and recognise your behaviours. Through reflection, you can identify patterns, strengths, and areas for improvement, which will empower you to make more conscious choices that align with your values and goals. Regularly reflecting on your life and your habits helps you nurture a deeper connection with yourself, and that is what self love is all about!

Create Your Ideal Self Love Routine With These 5 Steps

Step 1. Look at your schedule

The first thing to do when creating your self love routine is to meticulously assess your schedule. This is your chance to hit pause on your busy life and spend some time finetuning your the regime you’ve been living by. Look at your current routine and determine what needs to change. As you determine what time will be allocated in your weeks for self love and self care, it’s important that you look at your routine through a non-judgmental pair of eyes. Consider the activities that fill your days, the obligations you’ve committed to, and the moments of rest you manage to afford. Find the gaps in your calendar and fill them with some self focused activities.

Step 2. Identify your self love language

Your second step is to identify which of the 5 love languages work best for you. Although there may be no rulebook to loving yourself, understanding your unique preferences will provide the direction you are after. You need to figure out how you react to different types of attention and affection so that you can double down on your favoured methods of self love.

Find out your preferred self love language(s):

• Physical Touch
• Acts of Service
• Quality Time
• Words of Affirmation
• Receiving Gifts

Step 3. Discover your favourite self care activities

In your journey of nurturing self love, the third step is to discover which self care activities are your favourite. Trying out various activities will help you find out which are best to slot into your new self love routine. To start with this step, you are going to reflect on solitary moments where you have felt most content, rejuvenated, energised, and at peace. The point in this is to identify when you feel least lonely while being alone. Were you practicing a musical instrument? Shooting hoops on the basketball court? Or completing a paint-by-numbers masterpiece? Consider those activities that have ignited joy and soothed your soul in the past. They are going to be important to include in your self love routine! Explore new activities too – from exercises like yoga or dancing, to creative endeavors such as singing or writing, and even some quieter moments like meditation or sticking your nose into a good book. Pay attention to what resonates with you most when exploring these new experiences. Your favorite self care activities are going to serve as powerful tools in developing self love.

Step 4. Establish your routine

The fourth and most important step is to craft your self love routine! It’s crucial to approach this new framework of your week or month with genuine intention and commitment. So, you’ve looked at your schedule and you now know the time slots you can spare. Integrate your favourite self-care activities into your existing schedule, whether it’s incorporating them into your morning ritual, evening wind-down, or breaks throughout the day. You might even want to include a regular self care day into your wider schedule. Also, you are going to want to include some common practices that benefit your physical, mental and emotional health. Things like getting up at an appropriate time of the morning, cooking for yourself regularly, and ensuring that you do get some social time. Do try be realistic about the time you can allocate within your daily routine. Start with small, manageable steps to avoid overwhelming yourself. Ultimately, it’s consistency that’s key, so aim to stick to your routine even on busy (and/or bad) days.

Your routine is going to look a little like this:

Step 5. Assess and adapt

Congrats! You’ve completed creating your routine! However, as you delve into this newly made routine, there is one more step. The fifth and final step revolves around assessment and adaptation. Creating a routine is one thing, but to be able to recognise what is and isn’t working is another. This is when the element of reflection will really shine a light on your journey. Reflect on your previous steps and evaluate the effectiveness of your routine in meeting your needs and nurturing self-love. Happen to notice any areas that could be enhanced or adjusted to better serve you? Yes? – Awesome! You can be as adjustable and adaptive as you need to be. No? – Well that’s perfect! It’s then just a matter of maintaining what you’re doing. Be willing to let go of activities or habits that no longer resonate with you and explore new avenues for self-care that align with your evolving preferences and circumstances. Flexibility is super duper important!

— Let your self love routine evolve —

In this delightful journey of you crafting your very own self love routine, one thing will really stand out: flexibility is your greatest superpower. Although you strive to stick to your self love routine, it’s vital that you don’t see that routine as a rigid, indefinite plan. Instead, view it as a fluid, forever evolving plan. Having the adaptability in your self care practices will truly embrace opportunity for self love.

Your self love routine can be as unique as you wish it to be. Have fun with what you include, be open-minded and enjoy the journey of cultivating self love. You’ll eventually be the pro of using positive affirmations and excel in a variety of self care practices! Keep going, continue improving, and remember to love yourself like you’d love your closest friends and family.