Striking the perfect balance between selfless love and self-love is extremely important throughout life, even when you find yourself in a committed relationship.
Learning how to balance giving to your partner while simultaneously providing for yourself is key to finding true happiness.
Learning how to practice self-love while you are in a relationship will help you to gauge which areas in your own life require more attention to ensure your mental and emotional well-being are being tended to properly at all times.
- Prioritizing self-love improves your relationship quality by encouraging effective communication between you and your partner, helping you set healthy boundaries, and obtaining mutual personal growth.
- Maintaining your physical health, and independence, and practicing mindfulness daily is key to self-love practices within your relationship.
- Learning to forgive yourself, and ensuring your personal needs are met contribute to a healthier relationship and overall emotional well-being.
Table of Contents
Can You Practice Self-Love in a Relationship?
Yes, you can practice self-love in a relationship and you should make it mandatory to do so whether you’re in the relationship or not.
In fact, practicing self-love can enhance the quality of your relationship by creating a more positive and fulfilling experience for you and your partner.
When you can prioritize self-love in your life, you can communicate more effectively, set healthy boundaries, and support each other’s personal growth.
Ultimately, a healthy relationship requires you and your partner to prioritize your own well-being while nurturing the connection with each other.
How You Can Start Your Self-Love Journey While in a Relationship
Speaking from personal experience, here are steps I would recommend that you can take to start.
Taking Care of Your Body
This is my favorite thing to do, why? Because you have only one body, so you want to keep it as healthy and functional as long as you live.
One of the most important elements of self-love involves caring for your body, mentally and physically.
Without the ability to feel good and healthy, it becomes increasingly difficult to reach your goals and provide love and care for others.
Taking care of yourself should always remain a top priority whenever you are practicing self-love. Some ways to take care of your body even while you are in a relationship include:
Getting adequate sleep
Ensuring you get anywhere between 6 and 8 hours of sleep each and every night is a must for mental clarity and emotional well-being.
Additionally, the lack of sleep over time can also negatively impact your body physically, causing lethargy and even long-term health issues if your sleeping patterns are not addressed.
Eat healthily
Eating healthily goes a long way when it comes to mental and emotional clarity as well as physical fitness.
Steer clear of eating processed foods, junk foods, and fast foods, especially if you are struggling with anxiety or depression, or if you are looking to lose weight and become a bit fitter.
Exercise regularly
Although you do not need to become a gym rat in order to live a healthy life, walking for at least 20 to 30 minutes each day can have a significant impact on your physical fitness as well as your mental health.
The natural release of dopamine and serotonin can also help to alleviate stress, anxiety, and feelings of depression.
Maintain Your Independence
Maintaining a sense of independence is also essential in any relationship, especially if you are determined to have self-love in your life.
Without maintaining a sense of independence, you run the risk of becoming extremely co-dependent on your partner and others you may have living with you in your household.
When you live your life independently, it’s much easier to ensure your confidence and self-esteem also remain.
The simplest ways you can do to maintain your independence, especially when you’re in a relationship include:
- Transportation: Owning your own transportation or having transportation passes can help you to feel as if you are independent and capable of completing tasks on your own.
- Work: Ensuring that you are always gainfully employed will help you to feel confident and independent.
- Hobbies: Having hobbies and interests of your own can help you to feel as if you are your own person, rather than just an extension of your current partner.
- Friends and family: Spend time with family and friends outside of your romantic relationship, as friendships are equally as important. An extensive social circle will also help you to feel mentally and emotionally balanced, especially during tough times or arguments with your partner.
Avoid feeling isolated as much as possible by practicing self-love, even when you are feeling down about your relationship, as all relationships have ups and downs over time.
Practice Mindfulness
Learning how to practice mindfulness goes a long way in any journey, especially one of self-discovery and self-love.
Mindfulness requires deep thinking and assessments of scenarios, relationships, and interactions around you.
Rather than allowing yourself to respond and react emotionally, mindfulness uses techniques such as “wise mind” to bring the emotional and factual areas of the mind together for a more thoughtful and rational outcome in the decision-making process.
Practicing mindfulness will allow you to see when you are neglecting yourself while taking an honest assessment of your current situational needs.
Forgive Yourself
A key element in self-love involves forgiving yourself and letting go of the past. Allowing yourself to let go of the past is essential throughout many areas of life, including those that are deeply impactful and/or traumatic in nature.
Whether you have lost a position at work or struggled in other close relationships in life, moving on is a way for you to also move forward.
While it’s not always easy to do, learning to forgive yourself while living in the moment can help significantly with practicing self-love and maintaining a healthy balance in everyday life.
Set Clear Boundaries
Whenever you find yourself struggling with self-love or feeling negative about yourself, it’s important to take a step back to assess your current feelings, emotions, and responses to particular issues in your life.
Ask yourself these questions to get out of negative thoughts:
- Am I feeling bombarded and overwhelmed?
- Do I feel as if I’m being taken for granted by others?
- Do I value my time?
- Is everything I’m thinking about yourself true?
If so, it may be time to rethink the boundaries you have set for others in your day-to-day routine.
Setting boundaries does not just mean setting boundaries for loved ones and those you are in committed relationships with at the time.
In fact, setting boundaries typically extends to friends, co-workers, and even close family members.
You can learn to set boundaries by keeping the following tips in mind:
- Establish certain times that you can be contacted during workdays
- Clarify your communication boundaries with family, friends, and loved ones
- Turn your phone down or off during work times to avoid being pestered or interrupted
- Remain direct whenever you are setting boundaries to ensure your message is heard loud and clear
Give Yourself the Love You Need
Understanding whether can you practice self-love in a relationship is essential if you are someone who struggles with mental and emotional well-being from time to time.
The more familiar you become with the concept of self-love, forgiving yourself, and changing your mindset, the easier it is to maintain your own confidence and self-esteem, regardless of your situation.
When you feel confident in your own skin, you can remain confident once you are partnered up with someone while still feeling great about yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can practicing self-love on a daily basis improve my relationship’s quality?
By practicing self-love in a relationship daily allows you to communicate more effectively with your partner and help you set healthy boundaries to support your personal growth. It creates a more positive and fulfilling experience for both you and your partner.
What are some ways to start practicing self-love and maintain independence in my relationship?
You can start by taking care of your body through sleep, diet, and exercise. Once you’ve done that, you can look at spending time with friends and family and pick up new hobbies.
How do practicing mindfulness and setting boundaries contribute to self-love in my relationship?
Mindfulness enables self-awareness and a rational approach to decision-making. Setting clear boundaries helps you value your time and prevents others from taking you for granted.
