Hi, good people. I hope your 2025 started well and is going well. It’s been a while since I posted anything. I have been missing in action because I got an assignment that took all my time and energy.
After the assignment, I fell sick. I was so ill that I didn’t leave the house for about two weeks. The only symptoms I had were mental and physical exhaustion. I was feeling completely drained.
When I went to the hospital, the doctor asked me whether I had recently engaged in something that sapped my energy. I explained to him the tedious assignment I had done for two months in addition to my daily household chores.
The doctor told me I had burnout. He advised me to make my well-being a priority. He also told me to rest and get quality sleep for one week.
I took the doctor’s advice seriously and I’m now well and back to normal. I was amazed that I didn’t need any medication. All I needed was sleep and rest for a week!
After recovery, I started to reflect on my life. In the process, I discovered that I got burnout because I didn’t have a healthy relationship with myself.
Do you know that the most important relationship you will ever have is the one with yourself? Now you know.
Yet, too many of us don’t have a healthy relationship with ourselves. We tend to neglect our overall well-being. This sometimes leads to stress, exhaustion, burnout, and other issues that affect our bodies and quality of life.
We also struggle with self-acceptance. We dwell on our flaws, mistakes, and perceived shortcomings.
For instance, do you sometimes wish you were taller, had a certain complexion, were more outgoing, had better hair, etc?
It’s okay to sometimes feel that way – after all, you’re human! However, your relationship with yourself can become unhealthy if you dwell on what you don’t like about yourself.
Instead of letting what you don’t like about yourself bring you down, try to embrace the unique individual you are.
Guess what? You have physical features that people admire in you. They wish they could have some of your features on their bodies. For example, they could admire your beautiful hair, nice nails, long neck, etc.
In addition, you have other attributes that people admire in you. For instance, they could admire your character, your openness, your calm spirit, your confidence, etc.
In other words, we are all unique individuals – differently and wonderfully made!
So, I urge you to embrace the unique individual you are so you can start having a healthy relationship with yourself.
12 Things You Can Do To Cultivate A Healthy Relationship With Yourself
You see, if you don’t like or accept yourself, it will be difficult to find happiness or build meaningful connections with others.
When you have a healthy relationship with yourself, it sets the foundation for every other relationship in your life.
Here are things you can do to cultivate a healthy relationship with yourself:
1. Accept yourself unconditionally
The first step to accepting yourself is by accepting your imperfections. Remember you’re unique. You’re wonderfully and differently created. There’s no one else like you in this world.
In addition, you bring something special to this world by just being you. Accept that and move on.
2. Be your own best friend
This means that you should treat yourself with the same understanding, support, and kindness that you would for someone you love deeply. Also, encourage and appreciate yourself just as you would a dear friend.
When you are your own best friend you gradually build a strong, loving, and compassionate relationship with yourself.
3. Be your own cheerleader
This means motivating yourself and celebrating your small or big achievements even when no one notices them. Avoid relying on other people’s validation to feel successful and valuable. Cheer yourself on!
4. Make self-care a priority in your life
Self-care basically means engaging in activities that boost your emotional, mental, and physical well-being. Some examples of such activities include exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, and eating a nutritious diet daily.
5. Be kind to yourself
Avoid criticizing or judging yourself too harshly. If you’re not kind to yourself, people might not treat you kindly. For instance, instead of criticizing your looks, tell yourself how beautiful and unique you are.
6. Forgive yourself for past mistakes
Dwelling on past mistakes can make you hate yourself and prevent you from moving forward. So, let go and live.
7. Love yourself unconditionally
If you want to have a healthy relationship with yourself, try to love yourself, warts and all. This means that you embrace everything about you – your imperfections, strengths, good, and ugly.
Remember that nobody is perfect. So, love yourself just the way you are.
8. Practice positive self-talk daily
This means telling yourself positive things daily. It helps you to build resilience and a positive mindset.
Here are positive things you can say to yourself daily:
- “I am proud of how far I’ve come.”
- “One step at a time—I don’t need to have it all figured out.”
- “I can learn and improve from this mistake.”
- “I am enough just as I am.”
9. Avoid comparing yourself with others
As the saying goes, comparing yourself with others can make you vain or bitter. Everyone has unique looks, qualities, challenges, experiences, and circumstances. So, embrace yours and move on.
10. Accept compliments graciously
When someone compliments you about anything, avoid downplaying it. Instead, try to internalize the compliment, reflect on it, and feel proud of it. Allow the compliment to remind you of your worth and value then carry that positive feeling forward.
11. Prioritize Yourself
If you’re the kind of person who prioritizes other people’s needs (like I do) before your own, it’s time to prioritize yourself. It’s not selfish to prioritize yourself – it’s necessary.
You see, when you don’t prioritize yourself, you could experience burnout or self-resentment.
So, don’t be afraid to say “no” or feel guilty when you give yourself a treat. Prioritizing yourself leads to a healthy relationship with yourself.
12. Avoiding Overexerting Yourself
At the beginning of this post, I mentioned that I was sick for two weeks due to burnout. The doctor told me I got burned out because of overexerting myself. He advised me to stop overexerting myself, and I urge you to do the same.
Overexerting yourself means pushing yourself too hard mentally, emotionally, and physically. If it goes unchecked, it could lead to stress, exhaustion, and burnout (like it did to me).
Here are things you can do to avoid overexerting yourself:
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help from your colleagues or family members.
- Delegate some house chores or tasks instead of trying to handle everything.
- Break tasks into manageable steps – avoid trying to do everything at once.
- Listen to your body (this is very important). Rest whenever you feel signs of discomfort, strain, or fatigue.
Final Thoughts
The relationship you have with yourself affects every aspect of your life. Suppose you don’t get along with you. In that case, you’re unlikely to get along with other people.
In other words, you can’t have a healthy relationship with others if you don’t have a healthy relationship with yourself.
If you apply some of the things I’ve listed in this post, you’ll be on your way to developing a healthy relationship with yourself.
What kind of relationship do you have with yourself? Kindly share in the comments section below. Cheers!
