There are lots of secrets and strategies floating around for achieving success in life, but there’s one surefire trick that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough—being kind to yourself. Yes, this seemingly simple yet often overlooked notion can go a long way towards ensuring that you’re living your best possible life in all of its facets—including your career, personal relationships, family, friendships, and other individual pursuits. It’s true!
According to a recent article by Inc., being nicer to yourself is an effective way to be happier, healthier, and more successful. It stands to reason—being nice to ourselves encourages and empowers us to want to be the best possible versions of ourselves, and to set personal goals that allow us to make this happen.
How it works
We’ve all learned “The Golden Rule” regarding how we should treat others. Let’s dig into why you should be applying The Golden Rule to yourself if you want to better your life! Being good to yourself nourishes your sense of self and fuels your motivation and desire to achieve your goals, all necessary ingredients for having fulfilling lives.
Self-kindness nourishes your sense of self—simple acts of kindness, from others and to ourselves, not only feels good, it reminds us of the power of kindness and feeds our sense of well-being. It makes us feel special and important, and that we’re entitled to the good things in life. With this mindset, we’re more likely to devote more time and energy to setting and achieving personal milestones for making our lives better.
Self-kindness fuels your motivation—with your sense of self nourished through kindness, you’ll feel more energized by life’s possibilities, and will be more likely to seek out ways to improve all facets of your life. You’ll not only feel more worthy of life’s good things, you’ll feel more motivated to go out and attain the better life you know you deserve!
Self-kindness helps you achieve your goals—being good to yourself augments your sense of self-worth and makes you feel like you deserve to have your life’s goals achieved. And when you achieve goals in life you’ll feel empowered to set new goals to go after.
How to make it work for you
Now that you know why being kind to yourself can help you better your life, let’s take a look at a few ways how you can do this.
Let yourself indulge in those little things in life that bring you pleasure. A good book, a cup of your favorite coffee, and a delicious dessert are easy and effective ways to be kind to yourself. Making sure to give yourself credit for your accomplishments, whether big or small, is another excellent way to be nice to yourself, and will propel you forward towards trying new challenges and accomplishments without the same fear of potential failure that holds many people back. Also try enhancing your appreciation of where you’re at in your life, focusing on the positives and the challenges you’ve successfully met, while reminding yourself that life is always a journey full of learning experiences.
Taking care of yourself is a great way to be kind to yourself—leading a healthy life that includes a balanced diet, low stress, regular exercise, and plenty of sleep will make you feel good inside and out, and help keep you operating at optimum levels, which is an excellent place from which to work towards improving your life and achieving the goals you set for yourself. What’s better than that?
