Self-care is important for your physical health, mental health, and your soul. Self-care actually makes you more effective and energetic. When you avoid things that make you feel physically and mentally well, you deplete your confidence and self-esteem. Self-care helps you maintain a healthy relationship with yourself, sometimes called self-love. To produce positive feelings and improve confidence:

1. Stop over-thinking

You don't need to have the answers to all of life's riddles. Take it all in with grace and grace will lead you in the right direction.

2. Accept what is, stop fighting with the facts

Sometimes you have to accept things as they are right now, today. You have to trust that the current of life will take you where you need to go.

3. Be still

Find somewhere beautiful – a park, the woods, or your kitchen – and just sit there. Be still and just appreciate the stillness. It's meditative and calming. Make time for stillness regularly.

4. Stop comparing yourself to others

Everyone has their own journey. You don't know how others have struggled or what mistakes they've made. Use what you feel as a guide. Your feelings might be showing you what you want in life.

5. Create joyful rituals

Create simple rituals of joy like making the bed and drinking lemon water every morning. Create easy-to-do rituals that ground your day no matter what life throws at you.

6. Take actions that scare you

It's so easy to find a hundred excuses for why you're not ready to do something you've dreamed of. If something scares you deeply, it means you want it deeply, so go for it.

7. Cherish true friends

Cherish friends who've seen you at your worst and love you even more for it. Friends who selflessly love you for you without any agenda are priceless.

8. Know your strengths

You have so many strengths. Focus on them and use them daily. List them out so you never forget what they are. The more you live within your strengths, the less your weaknesses will matter.

9. Eat green

The more you eat green foods the more your taste buds change and you realize just how delicious food from the earth truly is. The lighter you feel, the better your skin looks, and the more energy you have.

10. Exercise regularly

Make time for exercise; it will give time back to you in spades.

11. Don't let people walk all over you

Being a doormat robs you of your voice and leaves you resentful. Be strong in who you are. Don't let people walk all over you.

12. Forgive yourself, forgive others

When you can forgive the people in your life who harmed you and forgive yourself for your own mistakes, you will liberate yourself from pain, anger, resentment, and negativity. Anger, grudges, and resentment hurt no one more than the person holding them.

13. Avoid people who demean and belittle you

Their attitude towards you is more about their own inner struggles and fears than it is about you. Send them some compassion but don't allow yourself to be their punching bag.

14. Don't get lured into negativity

People who have nothing but negative things to say about everyone are unhappy with themselves. We can all be kinder and do better. What matters is that we try.

15. Don't live on social media

It's all shiny, sparkly, and well-crafted to present the best impression, making you feel as though you're the only one struggling in life. That's all good, but too much of it and you need to be reminded of Tip #4 above, stop comparing yourself to others.

16. Allow yourself to feel what you feel

Sometimes you'll get hurt and you won't want to leave the couch. It's okay. Let yourself sulk. The sooner you get it all out the sooner you can move on.

17. Breathe deeply

Take long, deep, luscious breaths way down into your diaphragm. Several deep breaths can relieve anxiety, cleanse your energy, and ease any emotions you may be experiencing.

18. Embrace your imperfections

Laugh at them if you need to. Perfect is boring. Imperfections make things interesting. Behind every imperfection is strength.

19. Partner with a really nice person

Being nice is more secure, more comforting, more loving, more stable, and all around more awesome.

20. Fight for your self-esteem

Know what your values are and honor them. Stop looking for approval from others; find it from within. Let go of the things that don't serve you. Stop being your own worst enemy and treat yourself with kindness, patience, and forgiveness. This all takes great effort, but it is well worth it.

21. Watch less TV

Too much TV robs you of time, creativity, and sleep. Goals fly out the window. Motivation gets lost and so does conversation. TV is addictive and it lures you in. Try to keep it in moderation.

22. Unplug

Create sacred spaces in your day or week where you unplug from everything. No emails, internet, nothing.

23. Be of service

Find ways to give. Find ways that inspire you, speak to you, and fill your heart. Find ways that empower instead of deplete you. Someone or something could benefit from what you have to offer.

24. Just be you

You are perfect. You are invaluable. You are enough.

Citations

How to Practice Emotional First Aid

We'll go to the doctor when we feel flu-ish or a nagging pain. So why don’t we see a health professional when we feel emotional pain: guilt, loss, loneliness? Too many of us deal with common psychological-health issues on our own, says Guy Winch. But we don’t have to. He makes a compelling case to practice emotional hygiene — taking care of our emotions, our minds, with the same diligence we take care of our bodies.