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they do something nice for themselves each day. They set appropriate
boundaries and take care of themselves by saying no to things when they
need to. "When you love yourself, you understand that saying no to
something you don't want to do is an act of kindness, and you don't walk
around with negative feelings toward the person who asked you to do
something you didn't want to do," Schwartz says.
Not only is being kind to yourself good for your career, it's good for your
relationships too, she adds. "The more you build self-love, the more you
Schwartz invites visitors to her site to sign a 31-day pledge to "do my best to
do something loving for myself, however big or small." Whether you feel
like signing or not, making the commitment means you'll remind yourself
you to take better care of yourself, go after your dreams, and not let people
2. Listen to yourself.
That is, listen to how you talk to yourself, and the internal tone of voice you
criticize ourselves in our own heads and that brings down our con dence,"
Schwartz says. "When you love yourself, you know you're good enough that
3. Forgive yourself.
"Forgiveness is a big part of it," Schwartz says. "It's hard, because most of us
have been getting angry at ourselves for all the things we do wrong all our
lives. People get into trouble because they try so hard to be perfect and
then they beat themselves up when they're not. Loving yourself means
For starters, that means accepting the body that you have today. "Body
image is a big stumbling block, and so is age," she says. "When you love
yourself, you try to be the best person you can be in the body that you have,
and that's as much as you can do."
Self-acceptance also means accepting your income and success level as they
are, she says. "It's OK not to be making a certain amount by the time you
get to a certain age," she says. "Entrepreneurs get a lot of criticism when
people say, 'Why are you wasting your time doing that?' or 'You're not
successful enough!'"
with what I'm doing?" She herself sold a successful summer recreation
business when she found it was becoming too stressful. "I wound up with
This may be easier said than done, but avoid tying yourself to clients,
they talk to me like that I'm going to walk away or hang up the phone," she
says.
"I take supplements and vitamins, I exercise, and I recently cut out sugar for
caring for your health turn into a reason to beat yourself up if you slip.
"Yesterday, I had Twinkies," she says. "I've been wanting them ever since
they temporarily stopped selling them. So I bought some and I ate them. I
"People say, 'I've been so busy I had no time to eat today,'" Schwartz says.
"That's a very unloving thing to do. Grab something, even if it's just a
salad."
to your brain. So if you truly can't stop and grab a meal, make sure you
8. Breathe!
Don't forget that when you're feeling stressed, overworked, or upset, simple
says. "If you do some deep breathing during the day, you can calm yourself
down and not let stress get to you or make you sick."
For years, Schwartz never made her bed, simply throwing the covers over it.
Now she makes it every day for a simple reason: "Walking into my
Take the same approach with your workspace, she advises. Make it as
orderly as you can. Neatening up your workspace and getting rid of stu
you don't need will make you feel calmer and more in control, she says. But
don't limit yourself to just decluttering. "Make sure you have your
environment and o ce space the way you like it and that it's a pleasant
place for you to work," she says. "Have fresh owers on your desk. Take it
"A lot of people work in dark spaces. That's very unhealthy and unloving,"
Schwartz says. Try to work in a place where you have access to natural light,
she advises. If that's not possible, invest in full-spectrum light bulbs. Either
way, make sure to get outside for a walk as often as you can.
Does this sound like you? If you're bringing a bag of co ee to someone else,
you pick out a luxury brand in a nice package, but if you're buying it for
yourself, you pick the store brand or another inexpensive option. That's ne
if you're one of these people to whom all co ees taste alike. But if you
prefer the more expensive brand, you should go for it, Schwartz says.
"Very often we spend money on others but we're cheap with ourselves," she
says. "The better brand is only a few dollars extra, and every time you use it
you're reinforcing to yourself that you're worth more."
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