LOVE YOURSELF. The Center, a community wellness hub in Eau Claire, offers a few tips on loving yourself just the way you are. 

Starting a healthy routine can be tough, especially when you look in the mirror and think: That’s what I have to work with here? Really?!  Starting to eat healthy – or starting a new workout routine – begins with a dedication to doing what’s best for your body. That starts with loving the body – and the self – you’ve got. “Sometimes I think people try to insert self-love practices into a lifestyle where they’re generally not loving themselves,” said Scott Daniels, owner of The Center, a wellness hub just outside Eau Claire. “It can become a balancing act of trying to get enough self-affirming things to outweigh self-negating things. That perspective and approach doesn’t tend to work very well.” So when evaluating your health routines and habits, also consider the way you’re viewing yourself. “Ultimately, self-love practices benefit everyone,” Daniels said, “but they start with valuing our own hearts and being true to ourselves.” Here are five tips from the wellness hub on how to make self-love a regular practice in your daily routine.

1. Find your flow: Make regular habits.

Everyone has different tastes, talents, and personalities, but we all have the same basic needs. Determining what habits make you feel good about yourself is critical to being your best self. That could mean integrating habits such as mindfulness, meditation, life-coaching, spiritual direction, yoga, dance, or pottery into your daily routine, or it could mean identifying habits that bring you joy and making them more of a priority.  

2. Focus on feelings.

What makes starting new diets and workout routines so challenging is that often we don’t actually like doing them. Find a healthy routine that you enjoy: drinking tea, going for walks, spending time playing with your pup, or spending time with family. “The key is the feeling,” Daniels said. “Do you enjoy being you in doing whatever it is?”  

3. Accept that life is not easy.

“Being human isn’t easy,” Daniels said. “Remembering that gives me both a sense of genuine compassion and appreciation for everyone, which are big steps toward genuine love and respect for myself and others.” One tip is to bring joy to activities that may not bring you joy. For example, if you don’t enjoy doing the dishes, but you like listening to music, try listening to music while doing dishes. If you don’t like eating healthy, try rewarding yourself with something at the end of the week. “Self-love practices help us find a harmony within that feels good,” Daniels said. “The more we do that, the more we enjoy life, and the more we have to offer.”

4. Know it’s OK not to be OK.

When you go to the gym and see other “perfect” bodies – or people with more toned muscles, people on social media with better diets, neighbors who seem like they have a health routine more put together than you do – it can be easy to feel frustrated. “Perfectionism and the self-judgements it generates are often the first blocks to self-love,” Daniels said. “Self-love almost always involves being gentle with ourselves when we make mistakes.”

5. Know that you know yourself best.

What one person does may not work for another. Part of building a healthy lifestyle – both mentally and physically – is understanding what brings us creativity, inspiration, and playfulness. “Be curious and courageous when it comes to discerning what works and doesn’t work for you,” Daniels said. “See yourself as on the adventure of being you and go for what really feels right in your heart!”  

The Center • 3701 Highway 12 (East Clairemont Avenue), Eau Claire • (715) 529-7683 • info@thecenterec.com • thecenterec.com • Find it on Facebook