Do you often find yourself in situations where you’re “forced” into doing something you don’t want to do? Do you often find yourself saying yes when you mean no?

Being seen as friendly, easy-going, and extroverted may seem like harmless compliments, but don’t let these compliments deter you from finding out who you are. Under a mask of extrovert behavior, maybe you just want to be accepted. That’s why even if you don’t like doing something- you force yourself to enjoy it because you want to belong.

Everyone has a different way of coping with isolation, acceptance, and a sense of belonging. However, in finding out what works best for you, do not let yourself take a back seat. Pursuing a path that is in divergence from your core being will leave you lost, drained, and miserable.

Self-love is your secret weapon to living a fulfilling life. If your inner self is content and confident, then it also reflects on the world outside of you. When you make decisions out of guilt, a need to please or to avoid conflict, you overvalue the needs of others and disrespect yourself. At the end of the day, these things do not make you feel very good.

No, we are not telling you to be selfish, even though we admit that there’s a pretty thin line separating these two concepts. Self-love does not equate to selfishness. Putting yourself first simply means caring for yourself first so that you can be a more effective friend, family member, or citizen. How else can you expect to be a functional being when deep inside you’re in tatters, right?

How do you do “self-love”?

Putting yourself first can be achieved in many ways. While society will tell you to embrace a YOLO mindset, this is but a superficial and highly commercialized piece of advice.

For us, self-love starts with knowing about yourself. Too often, we piece our identity based on the circumstances surrounding us, like our job, our position in the family, and the like. First, we have to find out who we are even if we did not have these titles. What do we want? Which things do we cherish, value, or love? What angers us? What drains our energy?

To answer these questions, you have to spend time with yourself, do some meditation, write a journal, or talk to a life coach.

Once you have figured out the answer to the questions above, you can then make conscious choices in line with your preferences. Spend time with things that make you happy and veer away from things that drain the life out of you (although it wouldn’t hurt to take on some challenges for growth now and then).

Take care of your body because if your inner self is not doing well, your outer world would also be affected. Try out that skincare routine you’ve always wanted. Take a day off and go to that spa. Protect your energy and do not allow others to sap this precious resource mindlessly.

Dawn Chanel Essentials LLC is your partner in nurturing the “self-love” mindset. Our products are ideal for your self-love needs, especially with skincare. Our products are made in the USA and formulated without parabens, gluten, Phthalates, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, GMO-derived Soy, Propylene Glycol, Triclosan, or mineral oil. We do not do animal testing. Check out what we have in store for you by visiting our product catalog.

We hope that you’ve learned a thing or two about self-love. If you’re looking into something you could work on this year, you should start working on yourself. After all, knowledge, especially about oneself, pays the best dividends.