Roselyn Romero

I don’t care if you are a boy or girl, old or young, thin or thick – you need to learn how to love yourself. Although it’s not a school-taught subject (and if it is taught at your school, then you’re lucky!), loving yourself is essential for every single person to know. It helps you develop confidence within yourself and your abilities and helps you strengthen your relationships with yourself and with others. Your entire life turns upside down once you learn and grow self-love – it truly is one of my favorite lessons to practice and preach!

Of course, as with many other essential lessons in life, self-love is one of the most challenging to learn. As human beings, we have a tendency to bring ourselves down and concentrate solely on the negative aspects about ourselves. We may have finished running a mile, yet we still focus on the remaining fat on our stomach. We may have gone through a really tough day of school or work, yet we still focus on the time someone called us a rude word.

As I have continued to go to therapy, I have developed my ability to love myself overtime. Yes, there were many days in which I did not like myself, but the days in which I did love myself emerged slowly, yet surely.

Over the next few weeks, I would like to start a new series on my blog outlining the various ways I learned and developed self-love. Today, I’m starting out with one of the most effective methods you can use to learn how to love yourself, which is through positive affirmations!

The way positive affirmations work is that you must say them out loud, to yourself, and in front of the mirror. You must say these affirmations with conviction – in other words, you cannot merely say them to yourself and laugh at how “ridiculous” you sound. You need to believe in everything you tell yourself, regardless of how cheesy you may seem.

You can say them however many times you’d like each day – personally, I practice these affirmations at least once on a daily basis. I love saying them to myself at night before I drift off to bed so that I can wake up with the same thoughts in my mind from the night before.

Here are a few affirmations I have posted in my room that have helped me through both extremely difficult trials and super easy days in my life:

1. “I am enough.”
   This affirmation has helped me so much! Whenever I compare myself to other students (which is actually fairly often), I like to remind myself that no matter how others are performing – academically or otherwise – I am doing a great job. The way I am is perfect and enough for me, and that’s all that matters.
2. “I am not a product of my circumstances; rather, a product of my decisions.”
   This one is frequently forgotten, yet it is extremely vital to remember. The circumstances, or problems, that you are currently facing do not define who you are as a person. What does define you, however, is how you decide to act because of your trials.
   You can be going through a rough patch in your life, but if you lash out at others because if it, that is precisely what defines you. On the other hand, if you use your experiences to benefit others going through a similar situation, you will be known for your selflessness.
3. “I do all things with love.”
   Every action, big or small, is filled with energy. Do good so you can feel good inside.
4. “This life is mine to create.”
   If you stop and think about it, you hold the remote control behind the television screen that is your life. You can either make your life amazing or terrible – it is entirely up to you.
5. “Keep going!”
   When life seems awful and all you want to do is give up, remind yourself to persist. One of my favorite quotes is, “The only way out is through.” The only way you’re going to get out of your circumstances is to endure them with patience.
6. “I create my own definition of success.”
   This is another great affirmation for those who tend to compare themselves to other people! When you see others working hard, remember that you, yourself, are working hard as well. You are in the process of creating your own unique version of success, so applaud yourself for that!
7. “I bring happiness to everyone around me.”
   One common complaint we love to tell ourselves is, “I make everyone around me sad,” which is a fat lie. There are many individuals that surround us every day that absolutely love and care for our well-being, including parents, friends, teachers, coworkers, and much more. Rather than being harsh on yourself and telling yourself that they are upset because of you, remind yourself that you bring positivity and light into your world and everybody else’s.
8. “Life may be tough, but I am tougher.”
   No matter what our current situation is, we are fighting through it! It’s important to give yourself some credit for enduring some pretty tough battles in life.
9. “I am me, and I love me.”
   This is something that I struggled to tell myself initially. I used to feel super uncomfortable telling myself that I loved myself, but the more I did it, the happier I felt. I sparked a flame within me that screamed, “I truly, genuinely love myself!” It is absolutely freeing to be able to say this liberally and with absolute certainty.
10. “I am always learning.”
    Life is a classroom within itself – every person you meet and every hardship you face is a lesson learned. Acknowledging that you are still a growing person with an open heart will help you put your troubles into perspective.

Those are my top 10 favorite positive affirmations to tell myself every day! I hope you utilize these as well, and by all means, feel free to make some up for yourself! Everyone is different, so some of these affirmations may not be as effective for you as they are for me. Google “positive affirmations” and you will be pleasantly surprised by how many that exist!

As always, I will write again soon. ♡

Love, Roselyn