Step 4: Self-Love
We talked about how important it is to have love and support throughout life. Self-love is exactly that, getting love and support from the person you spend time with most. Having love and compassion for yourself will keep you strong and confident. This in turn yields comfort within your own skin, making it easier to navigate through life. Additionally, having this confidence will keep you grounded, make it easy to stand up for yourself, and navigate life situations with more ease.
There are lots of different ways to practice self-love/self-care, and it's very different for every person. But there are a few fairly common avenues you can take. Remember that the goal through all of this is self-love and self-acceptance.
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This category is about strengthening your body through exercise and nutrition. I talked about this in Step 2 a bit, but it's important to go over it some more. Once you're able to have consistent sources of food and water, you'll want to start optimizing your diet. Find what things make your body feel best (not what emotionally makes you feel best). Focus on plenty of veggies, fruits, whole grains, and healthy fats. And don't forget to have plenty of water. All of those combined will keep your body functioning at its best.
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We'll also discuss the importance of regular check-ins within your body to assess where you're at health-wise, as well as talking about the importance of dental and physical checkups with a doctor.
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I touched on this a little bit as well in Step 2. Once you have more resources to devote to your personal health, it's important to talk about your brain's physical health, and under that category your mental and emotional health.
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The brain is incredibly complex and still not even close to being fully understood, but there are some things people can do to enhance their overall brain health, such as through healthy eating and exercise, meditation, maintenance of emotional well-being and stress, and regularly helping your brains cognition grow through various mental stimulations.
An important and under-appreciated part of self-love/self-care is identifying things that make you feel like you and nurturing those.
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Things like hobbies, style, goals, and more, fall into this category.