1. Practice gratitude
Every day, write down three to five things you’re grateful for. This can seem challenging at first, especially when you have a mental habit of focusing on the negative.
But practicing gratitude every day can help you retrain your brain to focus on the positive.
Look for the silver linings of every seemingly negative situation. If you failed at something, be grateful for the lessons learned. Look for things about your perceived flaws to be grateful for, too.
2. Reframe your negative thoughts
Negative beliefs are the voice of your inner critic. They cause a lot of suffering and prevent you from reaching unconditional self-acceptance.
Reframe your negative beliefs about yourself by writing them down. For example, if you believe you are a bad person for something you did in the past, write it down.
Once you’ve written your list, go through each belief and reframe it. Start by challenging each statement by asking yourself: “Is this true?”
Then, replace each statement with more positive self-talk. For example: “I am a good person, but I’m only human, so I sometimes make mistakes.”
3. Choose your support system
Make a list of the people you spend the most time with. Think about the way they speak to you — are they mostly positive or negative?
Identify those who are mostly negative and ask yourself if it would be possible to spend less time with them. Perhaps you could even eliminate them from your life completely.
This is not always possible, such as in the case of a close family member. But try to remove as many negative people from your life as possible. Surround yourself with positive people who appreciate you and lift you up.
4. Meditate
A regular meditation practice can help you detach from your negative self-talk. This can improve your mood and lead to more positive emotions.
The goal of meditation is to become aware of those thoughts, observing them without identifying with them.
Mindfulness practices, such as meditation, increase psychological well-being and promote inner peace. This helps you reduce self-criticism and improve your self-image.
5. Forgive yourself
Forgiveness for past mistakes and regrets is an essential step toward self-acceptance.
Use this self-forgiveness exercise to overcome past mistakes. It will remind you that you’re only human, and you did the best you could. This will help you let go of regret and move on.
Think of a situation, action, or mistake for which you would like to forgive yourself. Identify any judgments of yourself relating to that situation, and write them down.
For example, you might write, “I shouldn’t have done X. I’m so stupid.”
Next, forgive yourself for that belief. Write down something like: “I forgive myself for believing I’m stupid for that. The truth is…” and fill in the blank.
Think about what a compassionate friend might say to you. It could be something like, “I was stressed because…” or “I was hurting and made a bad decision.”