There are many people in the world who spend their whole lives looking at the different flaws in themselves and never giving themselves a chance to love who they are. We all all unique and we have different personalities, we look different and we act different too. How do we learn to love and accept who we are?

Begin the day by looking in the mirror

When you wake up in the morning, instead of rushing straight to your phone to scroll through social media, go and stand in front of the mirror. Look at yourself fully and see the good things in your body. What is your favourite part of yourself? Is it your figure? Your freckles? Your hair? Concentrate on the positive parts of yourself and it will help you to build your confidence for the days ahead.

Use positive affirmations in your mind

A lot of the time we go around life talking down to ourselves and this can really damage the way we think and our confidence. If you look at photos of models on Instagram it is all too easy to start comparing yourself and tell yourself that you will never look that good. This isn’t going to do you any good though, and instead you should focus on what you have that they don’t and appreciate every curve of your body for what it is. If you can walk around telling yourself that you are beautiful, you will truly start to feel that way.

Write down your strengths

If you are having a particularly stressful or hard day in the workplace or in general, take the time to sit down and write. Get a piece of paper and list your strengths. What are you great at? What’s talents do you have? Read it back to yourself and start to realise that you are actually a pretty remarkable person and you have achieved so much in you lifetime.

Enjoy your hobbies

If you are starting to feel low and that you have nothing to do and enjoy in your life, this can start making you feel inadequate and it can have a damaging effect on your personal life. Take the time out of your week to focus on the things you love to do for a while and this will increase your mood and it will make you love your talents. It is a wonderful way to feel much happier in yourself and to really propel yourself to a new level of self confidence.

Socialise with your friends

You might not think that being around your friends can make you feel worth more in yourself, but this is precisely what can happen when you start hanging out with the people you love more often. It is easy for many of us to be paranoid that no one truly likes us, and this can bleed into our minds and make us feel like there is something wrong with who we are. However if we take more time to spend with our friends we will soon realise that actually, they do love us and they want to be around us for a reason. Make time to hang out and catch up with your friends at least once or twice a month if you can.

Expand your interests

When it comes to living a life where we feel like we are better people, it can be damaging for us to stay in the same stale lifestyle for too long. Every so often we need to shake things up and try something new and it can really be this that brings back that zest for life we once had. If you are starting to feel down and you are overthinking things, make sure you make an effort to try something brand new.

Go somewhere new

Just as trying a new activity can be beneficial to the way we view ourselves, so can travel. The moment we set off somewhere we have never been before there will be a mix of excitement and nervousness in our veins. By exploring new lands, seeing new cultures and having fun with our loved ones we can start to really feel happier overall and we can also appreciate life much more for what it is. The fact that we are going out of our comfort zone to try new things should be something we celebrate and see as being brave.

Understand your insecurities

This part can be harder than the other ones to make peace with, but it is just as much if not more important to do. Take a look in the mirror and stay there for a while. What is it that you feel insecure about? It could be your skin texture, your weight, the way your face looks and anything else. When we take a look at the triggers of our low self esteem it is only then that we accept what we see and learn to love this imperfections. There is no need to rush yourself to the gym, to Dr. Kolker, a breast reduction surgeon, or change your makeup and hair radically. We need to accept who we are underneath all of that, and that is you.

Relax and recalibrate

Stress is often a big contributing factor to a lot of things and it doesn’t help at all when we have to juggle the hardships of adult life along with us. Every once in a while we need to step back from the responsibilities of adult life and take some time for ourselves. Have a pamper evening, read a book, have a movie night with your loved ones… all of these things can reduce stress and make us feel happier as a person.

Know that you are unique

Everyone in the world is unique. There is no one else exactly like you, and this is something you should be proud of and something which you should treasure for all of your life. If you ever feel insecure just remember no one has the same eyes as you, the same hair or the same laugh. You are different and this is a great thing.