Confidence: How To Start Loving Yourself

Loving yourself sounds so natural and easy to some, but for many it can be a challenge. We know that our self-confidence plays a huge role in our daily lives. From job performance, to dating, to creating artwork, having a little faith in yourself can go a long way. A confident kritter will begin to see the world from a fresh perspective, one that always has their own best interest in mind. So where is all of this confidence supposed to come from? Loving yourself often requires a level of mindfulness that must be practiced. Here are a few steps you can start taking in the direction of feeling good about yourself.

Practice Self-Forgiveness

An important step in loving yourself is accepting that you are not perfect! In fact, if you’re doing this life thing right, you’ll never even be close to perfect. Poor choices are nothing more than lessons learned, not things to dwell on. Realize that you aren’t the first person, and you definitely won’t be the last to make that stupid mistake you can’t get over. You’re now a stronger person for what you’ve put behind you, and this is something to be proud of. Love yourself for your accomplishments, mistakes, and everything in between.

Find A Creative Outlet

Maybe you’ve always wanted to stitch your own festival outfits, paint a portrait of your favorite artist, or take up writing. Engaging in creative activities can help fulfil your sense of self-worth. Even if you don’t think you’re talented enough to create, that’s where practice comes in, leading to confidence. On a smaller scale, you might even want to take up journaling. It’s a form of creating that has no right or wrong shape to it. You might be surprised how much better you feel about yourself when you make a piece of art or write things down.

(source: @festiheads)

Pursue A Hobby

Hobbies go beyond art and music. Taking up a new hobby might help you develop a new sense of belonging. Imagine how different your life could be if you took up physical activities like hiking, yoga, or even skateboarding. Perhaps you’d rather be an indoor kitty. You could look into reading, cooking, or keeping potted plants. When you invest more of yourself into something like a hobby, you will begin to feel a redefined sense of purpose. Having purpose in life will naturally grow the feelings of love you have for yourself. Imagine how confident you'll feel when you get really good at something!

Surround Yourself With Positivity

It can be hard to look within and love yourself when you’re being distracted by negative outside forces. Sometimes no matter how hard you try, you will still find yourself surrounded by negative people. However, this is something you should definitely be mindful of if you’re working on your confidence. Being around someone who constantly makes you feel bad about yourself and your choices, for whatever reason, can be draining. The closer we are to someone, often the harder it is to notice the negativity they’re projecting onto us. Find the clarity within yourself to identify the negative and give yourself some space from it. The less negativity in your life, the more room you have for positivity! Once you find yourself surrounded by good people who have your best interest in mind, you will begin to blossom.

(source: @official_joey_)

One of my favorite places to turn for my routine dose of good vibes is the EDM community. Whether it be my inner circle or strangers I hardly know, I find that this community is always uplifting. Meeting new people at shows, festivals, and even online who share my passion for music is indescribable. I especially love the confident atmosphere I feel when I’m at an event! Beautiful kritters of all ages, sexualities, and ethnicities come together in agreement of leaving judgement behind. It’s truly rewarding watching people be proud of who they are in whatever crazy outfit they came up with. Plus, it boosts my own self-confidence knowing the people I’m with will love me no matter what outfit I decide to show up wearing that day. Trust me, it comes in handy when it’s 5 days into a camping festival and the best I could do was brush my hair and put on a T-shirt.

-By Ashley Ferraro