Ultimate Self-Love Guide 🩷

The foundation for cultivating a healthy mindset lies in our ability to love ourselves and feel comfortable, confident, and happy in our own skin. The sad reality is that so many of us struggle to find acceptance and confidence in our bodies due to a number of external pressures, in mainstream media, unsolicited comments, or inherited negative body image from family.

The fact of the matter is that bodies come in all different shapes and sizes, and none of us are the same, so why strive to fit someone else's mould?

Intentionally working on yourself is a lifelong investment and what may feel scary and foreign at first will eventually become a non-negotiable over time. Remember, you only get one body and it's your home for life, so make sure you treat it like it's your very best friend. If you’re ready to unlock that next level of self-love and understanding, check out our tips below to help you navigate becoming your happiest and most loving self.

Breaking the Cycle of Comparison ❌

Mindset Coach and Neuroscientist, Alexis Fernandez, is here to have a conversation around body image and breaking the cycle of comparison. Alexis explains that "Negative body image, or to a larger degree, Body Dysmorphia, is something that so many of us have experienced or continue to experience in our lives." Body Dysmorphia, as Alexis defines it, is "the obsessive focus of flaws in your physical appearance and a constant feeling of not looking good enough." This often manifests as the desire to resemble someone else, leading to a cycle of unhealthy comparison.

"If you find that you're always comparing yourself to others, it is because you are not doing enough to fulfil your needs for self-purpose or growth." 

Alexis suggests that these feelings of inadequacy and jealousy stem from a perceived threat that others have something we lack. However, by focusing on gaining knowledge, skills, and attributes that bring fulfilment, "all these external threats start to drop away." When you start to embrace your uniqueness and step into your purpose, "people will stop triggering your jealousy." Alexis emphasises that as self-respect deepens, the importance of these comparisons diminishes. To further combat comparison, she advises to think about your role models and who you are looking up to. Ask yourself, "Are you only wanting to be like someone because you think they look ‘hot’ and you wish that was you? Or are they people who are empowering and confident, no matter how they look?" By curating more positive influences in your life, particularly through social media, you can reshape your mindset, fostering greater self-love.

Cultivating Self-Acceptance 🌷

Self-acceptance is a crucial part of self-love, yet it’s often the most challenging to achieve. It’s about embracing every aspect of yourself—the good & the bad even when negative people around you try to bring you down. Whether it's ignorant comments from randoms on the internet, or unsought opinions from family, colleagues, or so-called 'friends', many of us will have to face negative judgments at some point in time. Move With Us Founder & Coach, Rachel Dillon, shares her words of advice on how she deals with negativity and turns her back to the haters.

Coach Rachel’s biggest message when it comes to receiving negative comments about your body, looks, or what you do to it, is to own your body. 

"Not everyone will love the way you look. In fact, if our intention is to seek the approval of others then we will never truly be happy. What is important is for us to learn to love the way we look and to appreciate just how incredible our bodies are. The truth is, we are all genetically completely different and it’s unfortunate that society has been programmed to idolise bodies that are completely unrealistic to achieve. It took me time to accept my appearance and allow myself to embrace who I wanted to become". 

As you learn to accept yourself fully, you’ll find a deep sense of peace and contentment that no external validation can provide. Start by trying to challenge the negative self-talk when it arises, maybe someone or something triggered it, but it is within your power to switch this around. To shift your mindset you need to make a conscious effort to reframe your dialogue into something positive. One powerful practice is through telling yourself positive affirmations that serve to uplift and empower you. It's important to make these statements personal to you and where you need to be kinder to yourself, but here are some examples of self-love affirmations we could all use:

• I am worthy and capable of achieving my goals, and I am doing my best
• I am loved, and loveable, and I love myself unconditionally 
• I am grateful for the capabilities I have and I am proud of my body for all that it does for me
• I am strong and healthy and accept my body the way it is today

Building Confidence 💪

True confidence comes from within. Confidence is the belief in your own abilities, qualities, and judgement. It’s a sense of self-assurance that comes from having trust in yourself, your skills, and your capacity to handle various situations. It’s not about seeking approval from others, but about knowing your worth regardless of external opinions. 

To build your confidence from the inside out you should start focusing on your strengths and developing your skills in new areas. Look for opportunities to use your strengths in daily life. Doing what you’re good at can help you feel more confident. Also learning something new can boost your self-confidence. Whether it’s a hobby, a language, or a professional skill, growth leads to confidence. Even if some new tasks can make you feel a little uncomfortable, the worst that could happen is you fail - but this is just a learning opportunity and you can always try again! When you do succeed, it will be even more rewarding and give you that boost of confidence!

One of the best ways to start showing and feeling your confidence is to “fake it until you make it”. Pretending to be confident can actually help you to start feeling it. At first, it might feel wrong or uncomfortable, but just remember that confidence is a mindset and no one around you actually knows if you are faking it or not. With practice, this “act” will begin to feel real. Confidence is like a muscle—the more you work on it, the stronger it becomes.

Coach Rachel is passionate about empowering women to feel confident, and she shares her story of how her confidence led her to start her activewear brand, CSB.

"To me, being real is when someone is living their life authentically and exactly how they choose to. Expressing themselves through their style, music, art, work, or whatever their passion may be, but owning it and embracing it wholeheartedly.

I still remember years ago, shopping at City Beach for cute crops I couldn’t find in activewear shops and wearing them to the gym. I remember people commenting on what I would wear, and I completely understood it because I knew I chose to go against the ‘norm’. I was okay with other people not approving because I approved, and that is what mattered most.

I spent so much of my time either working or training in the gym and had a burning passion for putting together cute outfits. Outfits I felt confident in, outfits I thought were cute and different! I chose to embrace a side of me that wasn’t necessarily accepted by others.

If I had chosen to let others' comments and opinions steer me away from being who I am and wearing what I like, I would never have started my own activewear line @csb.”

“If there’s one thing I hope to teach young women it’s to embrace who you are. It’s to dare to be different, it’s to go after your dreams, silence the haters and make magic baby" - Coach Rachel

Fall in Love with Yourself 🩷

Learning how to love yourself is truly essential to your happiness. When you practice self-love and develop a deep-rooted sense of loving kindness and acceptance for yourself, your confidence and inner peace will shine through to all aspects of your life, and extend onto those around you. If you have already begun to master our previous tips, then the following self-love practices will make you even more in love with yourself which is what we all need to do 🥰

• Take Care of Your Physical State: The way you take care of your physical state has a direct effect on your emotional and internal state. Not only does exercise benefit your physical and mental health, it helps to boost your feelings of self-love too when all of those endorphins are running through your body. All the more reasons to incorporate daily movement into your routine!
• This also goes for just about everything you put into your body - the foods, water, and the amount of sleep you get. All these factors directly affect your energy levels and the way you feel. It's difficult to love yourself when your body isn't getting all the things it needs to feel good, so start to treat these aspects as non-negotiables in your life. And take this as your excuse to treat yourself to a relaxing sauna & nutritious meal tonight.
• Adopt an Attitude for Gratitude: The human brain is wired for survival, which means that we naturally look for the negative things in a situation that could threaten us. This way of thinking puts us into a natural negative cycle, but we can replace these thoughts with feelings of gratitude instead. When you do this you start to magnify all the good things in your life and attract like-minded thoughts and feelings of self-love. Start practising gratitude by focusing on all the things you're thankful for, both big and small. This might look like taking 5 minutes of mindfulness when you first wake up, to think about the things you're looking forward to in your day, and express gratitude for your comfy bed, a warm shower, your morning coffee, or blue skies. With regular practice, you'll experience how gratitude becomes natural to you and starts to take over any negative wiring and thoughts about yourself. 
• Reconnect with Yourself: It's hard to get in touch with feelings of self-love when you're constantly surrounded by others and stay busy going from one task to the next without allowing time to pause. When you prioritise time to relax and be by yourself, you're able to recharge and reconnect with your inner self. Creating time to be by yourself (without scrolling through Tiktok - this doesn’t count!) allows you to be honest with yourself and reflect on your needs, goals, and what needs prioritising. It's in these moments you're likely to discover your purpose and uncover what really matters most to you. Loving yourself comes naturally when you start to live in alignment with your true values and recognise your worth and purpose.  
• Be the Energy You Want to Attract: As they say, your vibe attracts your tribe - which is why it's so important to focus your energy on being the best possible version of yourself. You cannot attract your ideal life if you aren’t willing to be that person now. The energy you put out into the world is what you will receive back, so make sure you focus your energy on the things that truly bring you joy, and surround yourself with like-minded, uplifting people. Happiness is an ongoing chain reaction that spreads from you onto others and can be through something as simple (and free) as a compliment or a smile. The qualities that you celebrate in others will help you appreciate those things within yourself, and strengthen your self-confidence without the need for external validation.
• Finding confidence in your body image is an ongoing journey, but it's something absolutely worth striving for. Self-love is the secret to living an abundant, happy, and healthy life, so it's time to start working on your human needs and reflecting on where you can make some changes today.

Ready to take the first step? We're here to help!

Rediscover your self-love journey with a MWU Platinum Membership 🩷