A Guide to Help You Reach True Self-Love

Posted on September 27, 2021 by Shealyn Ivany, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

Throughout my self-development journey, I’ve realized how transformative it is to cultivate and nurture a true sense of self-love. But it’s not an easy task. You’ll most likely deal with feelings of self-doubt, self-criticism, and other limiting beliefs that try to hold you back along the way.

Reaching a strong and stable place of self-love takes commitment, patience, and compassion. The sense of meaning, fulfillment, and purpose that comes with finding self-love makes the journey so worth it.

In the simplest sense, self-love can be defined as the act of loving yourself for who you truly are. After much learning and reflecting on self-love, I’ve realized there are many components to it. It’s helpful to cultivate and nurture these other aspects of yourself, because when you do, you’ll reach a more authentic and all-encompassing sense of self-love.

Looking back on my own journey, and hearing the stories and experiences of others, I can now see that all the aspects of the self are connected. They thrive together as a whole, and they are the puzzle pieces that create the bigger picture of self-love.

These aspects of the self may be achieved in a different order for different people because we all go through our own unique experiences. You may already be subconsciously engaging with some of these parts of yourself, and maybe some of the others require more of your intentional attention.

In this post, I’m sharing 10 key aspects of the self that’ll help you reach true self-love. I’ve written them in a sequence that feels most authentic to me and my journey, but that doesn’t mean yours will fall into the same order.

We are all unique and everyone’s self-love journey will unfold differently. As long as you address and embrace each of these aspects in a way that feels true and authentic to you, you’ll be well on your way to creating and nurturing a true sense of self-love.

Self-love might feel far from reach sometimes, but when you truly feel it, the possibilities in every other aspect of your life are endless.

Self-Reflection
The process of growing your understanding of who you are, what your values are, and why you think and act the way you do. Self-reflection is a form of personal analysis that allows you to bring your life into alignment with what you wish it to be.

Self-Discovery
The process of discovering insight into your character. Self-discovery is all about learning more about yourself and who you are as a person.

Self-Care
The act of listening to your mind, body, and soul so you can give yourself what you need in any given moment. When you engage with your self-care, you play an active role in protecting your well-being and improving your quality of life.

Self-Awareness
Conscious knowledge of your character, feelings, motives, and desires. Self-awareness gives you the capacity for introspection and the ability to recognize yourself as a unique individual.

Self-Appreciation
The process of appreciating yourself for all that you are. Tapping into your self-appreciation will help you become more thankful and grateful towards all parts of yourself.

Self-Compassion
Extending warmth, care, and kindness towards yourself in instances of perceived inadequacy, failure, or general suffering. Self-compassion is the ability to treat yourself with empathy, love, and concern during times of difficulty.

Self-Empowerment
The act of taking control of your own life and making choices that align with your authentic self. Self-empowerment involves knowing your beliefs, needs, and goals in life and turning your intentions into actions. When you’re self-empowered, you’re confident in your strengths and weaknesses, you know what you believe in, and you make positive decisions based on what you want from life.

Self-Worth
The sense of your own inherent value or worth as a person. Self-worth is closely tied to the actions you take to boost your confidence (self-esteem) and the way you treat yourself (self-respect).

Self-Acceptance
The act of accepting yourself. This involves understanding and recognizing your own abilities and limitations, having a realistic approval of your talents, capabilities, and general worth, and experiencing feelings of satisfaction with yourself despite the parts of you that you aren’t so confident in. Self-acceptance is about embracing all aspects of yourself in an unconditional way.

Self-Actualization
The realization or fulfillment of one’s talents and potentialities. When you reach self-actualization, you have a fuller knowledge and acceptance of your intrinsic nature. This involves realizing your needs, capabilities, and potential in life. Self-actualization is about knowing what you want in life and making a plan of action to get you there.

Self-love is all about loving yourself in whatever way that is most meaningful, fulfilling, and purposeful to you. These 10 components of yourself will help guide you there. They do not have to be achieved in any particular order. Think of them as parts of the whole.

Self-love thrives when you engage with each of these parts of yourself individually and altogether. They are interconnected, closely related, and dependent on each other. Treat these 10 aspects of yourself as your tools, your roadmap, and your guide to finding true love within yourself.

True self-love might feel like a far-off, ultimate goal, but when you treat yourself in a respectful and intentional way, do the work to realize a fuller sense of yourself, and live your most authentic and aligned life, it’ll become much easier for you to truly love yourself.

If you loved this article, check out these episodes of my podcast, Awaken & Empower, at livingembrace.ca/podcast and wherever you listen to podcasts!

Episode 7: The Pillars of Your Sense of Self
livingembrace.ca/awaken-and-empower-episode-7

Episode 10: Lessons in Self-Worth
livingembrace.ca/awaken-and-empower-episode-10

Episode 18: 5 Acts of Radical Self-Love
livingembrace.ca/awaken-and-empower-episode-18