12 Ways to Build a Healthy Relationship with Yourself

12 Ways to Build a Healthy Relationship with Yourself Intro 

Building a healthy relationship with yourself is essential. You can’t have a healthy relationship with anyone else without first having one with yourself. Everything in your life starts with you. 

When you build a healthy relationship with yourself it will boost self-confidence, allow you to really get to know yourself, and set higher standards for how you allow other people to treat you. 

So let’s get going and help you to find and nurture your best self! 

12 Ways to Build a Healthy Relationship with Yourself 

• Accepting yourself, perceived flaws and all. 
• Learning to identify your wants, needs, and emotions. 
• Being kind and loving toward yourself. 
• Forgiving your past mistakes. 
• Learning to trust yourself. 
• Valuing your opinion. 
• Having your own back. 
• Showing up for yourself. 
• Holding yourself accountable. 
• Believing in yourself. 
• Reflecting on and acting in your best interest. 

Acceptance 

Accepting yourself, perceived flaws, and all. Acceptance means accepting everything about yourself, including what you deem imperfections. Because we all have them. 

Acceptable means 

• Making contact with your inner self. 
• Honestly face your inner obstacles and resistance. 
• Dealing with old wounds. 
• Forgiving your past. 
• Accepting where you are right now. 
• Forming relationships where you feel loved and appreciated. 
• Practicing the kind of love you aspire to receive. 

Identifying What You Need 

Identify your wants, needs, and emotions. Learning to identify what you need is one of the best ways to build a healthy relationship with yourself. 

Because you can’t give yourself what you need if you can’t identify what that is. If you’re struggling with identifying your needs, try making it a habit to check in with yourself several times a day. Normalize asking yourself, “what do I need right now?” 

Make a list of these 5 key needs and then ask yourself what do you need to achieve these

• To feel safe. 
• To feel competent and have a sense of identity. 
• The freedom to express your needs and emotions. 
• To act spontaneously and play. 
• To have realistic limits that help you use self-control. 

Being Kind To Yourself 

Kindness starts within ourselves. We can’t be kind to anyone else if we are not kind to ourselves. 

Kindness means 

• Talking kindly to yourself. 
• Practicing gratitude. 
• Performing acts of kindness to others. 
• Daily reflections. 
• Self-care. 
• Being responsible for yourself. 
• Investing in your interests. 
• Practicing mindfulness. 
• Spending time in and around nature. 
• Thinking of positive opportunities. 

Forgiveness 

Forgive yourself for your past mistakes. This one isn’t always easy, trust me! I struggle with it too. But the past is the past for a reason, and we can’t change it. It should be a lesson, not a life sentence. 

There is a reason that the rearview mirror in a car is so small compared to the windshield. What is coming is so much better, so let’s look forward to the future instead of dwelling on the past. 

When you are able to forgive yourself for past mistakes and move forward, it opens up a whole new world of possibilities because you’re able to learn from your mistakes and become a better person because of it. 

Forgiveness includes 

• Focusing on your emotions. 
• Acknowledge the mistake verbally. 
• Thinking of a mistake as a learning experience. 
• Giving yourself permission to put the process on hold if necessary. 
• Having a conversation with your inner critic. 
• Noticing when you are being self-critical. 
• Quiet the negative messages of your inner critic. 
• Get clear about what you want. 
• Take your own advice. 
• Stop reliving the mistake over and over. 
• Show kindness and compassion to yourself. 
• Seek professional help if needed to move forward. 

Learn To Trust Yourself 

Trust is such a difficult thing to achieve, and it is especially true when it comes to ourselves. Yet trusting yourself is one of the most important things you can do. 

Trusting yourself is 

• Being yourself. 
• Setting reasonable and achievable goals. 
• Be kind to yourself.
• Building on your strengths. 
• Spending time with yourself. 
• Being decisive. 

Value Your Opinions 

Your opinion of your life and your choices means more than the opinions of anyone else! Read that again if you need to. Your life belongs to you and only you are in charge of your own happiness. Your opinion matters. 

Why your opinion matters 

• Your life belongs to you, not anyone else. 
• You know what is best for you. 
• You’re not in competition with anyone else. 
• It is impossible to please everyone. 

Have Your Back 

Be your own cheerleader! So many times I see people talking about how their friends and family don’t believe in them or support their goals. I always say that you gotta be your own cheerleader. Believe in yourself, have your back, and cheer and celebrate every single accomplishment! 

Having your own back means you’re not beating yourself up and being counterproductive toward yourself, your feelings, or your goals. 

When you have your back, there is no stopping you. It won’t matter what anyone else thinks, as you know just how amazing and capable that you are. 

If you are struggling with this, make a list, I call it the “love list” of things you love and appreciate about yourself. When you practice replacing negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll be good at it. 

Ways to practice having your own back 

• Feeling proud of you you are. 
• Having confidence in yourself. 
• Recognizing your worth, even when you make mistakes. 
• Reminding yourself that you deserve better when negative habits arise. 

Show Up For Yourself 

What does it mean to show up for yourself? It means taking care of yourself in ways that support your mental and emotional health. This means taking time for things that bring you joy and keep your mind clear. 

By showing up for yourself, you’re sending a very clear and powerful message to yourself that you are worth taking care of, that you are worthy of love and important. This message has a very powerful and positive ripple in all areas of your life. 

Ways to show up for yourself can include 

• Making time for activities that bring you joy. 
• Practicing positive self-talk and thoughts. 
• Practicing self-compassion. 
• Set firm boundaries. 
• Take time for yourself. 
• Connect with your intuition. 
• Journaling. 
• Getting comfortable with vulnerability. 
• Connect with your passion. 
• Connect with your authentic self. 

Be Honest 

Honesty is always the best policy, and I find that especially true when developing a healthy relationship with yourself. If you aren’t honest with yourself, you clearly don’t trust yourself, or have the confidence to make the necessary changes within yourself. 

Ways to be honest with yourself 

• Stop putting off dreams and goals until tomorrow. 
• Own your own mistakes. 
• Don’t shrug off your feelings. 
• Realize that you don’t know everything. 
• Find someone you trust to give you honest feedback. 

Hold Yourself Accountable 

When you are accountable to yourself, you’re holding yourself to a higher standard than others do, and you really are showing up for yourself and making changes when necessary. 

Holding yourself accountable means 

• Getting into the right mindset to make progress. 
• Identify your personal mission statement. 
• Focus on small goals. 
• Commit your plans to paper. 
• Practice conscientiousness. 
• Break the walls down. 
• Reward and reprimand yourself. 
• Reflect on your progress. 

Believe In Yourself 

You are amazing! Take a moment to stop and think about the person you look up to. What are their qualities that make them worthy of looking up to? Why can’t you be that kind of person? You can! But you have to start believing in yourself first. That is what sparks the change toward becoming the best version of yourself. 

Believing in yourself means 

• Being realistic about goals. 
• Surrounding yourself with positivity. 
• Acknowledging accomplishments and passions. 
• Sharing what you have to offer with others. 
• Reaching for the stars. 
• Not being afraid to speak up. 
• Taking care of yourself. 

Reflect 

Reflect on if you’re acting in your own best interest by all of the things I talked about above. Is there room for improvement? Or a specific category that needs more attention than the others? 

12 Ways to Build a Healthy Relationship with Yourself Notes 

Building a healthy relationship with yourself is not an overnight process. Nor is it ever finished. It is a continued work in progress, just as you yourself are. There will be setbacks and bad days where negative habits try to make a comeback. 

But you deserve better. You deserve to be in a healthy relationship with yourself. You deserve the best! So focus on being the best. It will really make a huge difference in your life and the way you feel about and view yourself. This also changes how you view and treat others in your life. It is a cyclebreaking change for the better. 

Be patient as you go through this process and take it one day at a time, one portion of this process at a time. Show yourself grace and kindness as you build that healthy relationship with yourself. You are amazing and you deserve to become the best and most successful version of yourself that you can be! 

12 Ways to Build a Healthy Relationship with Yourself Discussion 

Do you have a healthy relationship with yourself? Is there room for improvement? Do you have any other tips on building a healthy relationship with yourself that I left out? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!