30 Days of Self Love - Are You Up for the Challenge?
You may hear the term “self-love” thrown around a lot, but do you truly understand it? Self-love isn’t just as simple as loving yourself - it encompasses all of the ways in which you treat yourself, think about yourself, and take care of yourself.
As much as you may care for friends, family, and significant others, you are the most important! Your physical, mental, and emotional well-being should be priority number one. The more you practice self-care, the happier you’ll be - and you can’t be happy with anyone else until you’re happy with yourself!
Enter: The 30 day self love challenge.
What is the 30 Day Self Love Challenge?
For thirty days, you’ll be given a different challenge to complete each day. Each one is designed to bring you more joy and help you feel more accepting and proud of who you are and what you have in your life.
The 30 day self love is divided into six parts: your mind, your body, your relationships, your environment, your activities, and your finances. Each part has its own challenges to help improve various aspects of your life. If you feel like skipping one, it’s totally fine! You are not obligated to complete all of them - but doing so can help you feel like the best version of yourself by the end of the month!
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Self Love Challenge Part One: Your Mind
The first five days of the self love challenge focus on improving one of the most important aspects of self care: Your mental health:
Day 1: Positive affirmations
On the first day, come up with three to five positive affirmations about yourself, write them down, and say them out loud! The more you repeat positive affirmations to yourself, the more confident and self aware you will become. Soon enough, it will become a much-needed habit.
Day 2: Start a self love journal
A self love journal is a place to write down only positive things about yourself. Think about what your best qualities are, what you’re best at, and what you love most about yourself. What sets you apart from the rest? Dig deep and put pen to paper!
Day 3: Create a gratitude list
What are you most grateful for? No matter how small, write down each and every thing in your life that you have to be thankful for. Think about what you appreciate most in your daily routine, relationships, and yourself.
Day 4: Meditate
Meditation is an amazing way to reduce stress and boost feelings of happiness. On day four, sit down for at least 10 minutes to either focus on your breathing, listen to soothing sounds, or try a guided meditation. (You can find a bunch on YouTube or Apple Music.)
Day 5: Find a therapist
If you think you could benefit from therapy, the challenge for day five is to find a therapist in your area. Scheduling your first session is a huge first step toward self love! If a therapist isn’t for you, talk to a close, trusted friend about what you’re doing to work on your self care.
Self Love Challenge Part Two: Your Body
It’s so easy to have a negative view of your body, so the next five days are all about appreciating who you are physically (and treating yourself right).
Day 6: Tell yourself five things you love about your body
This can be difficult, but it’s so important to talk yourself up rather than put yourself down. What do you love about your body? Your hair color? Your physical strength? Your perfect vision?
Make a list and, just like the positive affirmations from earlier, repeat them every time you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror.
Day 7: Improve your sleep
A lack of sleep can wreak havoc on your body. On day seven, try to do everything you can to get a restful night’s sleep. Avoid caffeine late in the day, don’t schedule meetings early in the morning, and try meditation before bed if you need to.
Day 8: Try a new healthy recipe
Search the web for the most popular healthy recipes, or pick one you’ve been wanting to try! Along with a good night’s sleep, eating healthy doesn’t just benefit you physically, but it improves your mental health as well.
Day 9: Exercise
Day nine is all about getting up and moving! It doesn’t have to be anything crazy - go for a walk, ride a bike, or try some yoga. It shouldn’t feel like a punishment! If you don’t normally work out, pick something small that still gets your heart pumping and gets the endorphins flowing.
Day 10: Get outside
On day 10, get yourself outside for at least 15 minutes - regardless of the weather. Whether it’s a beautiful sunny day or gloomy and rainy, find a way to enjoy it. Relish in the fresh air or enjoy the smell of fresh rain!
Self Love Challenge Part Three: Your Relationships
Part of self love is surrounding yourself with the right people. Days 11 through 15 focus on your relationships (romantic or otherwise) and how you can create more love within them (and in yourself). Day 11: Plan a date with your partner or a friend
Day 11 is a fun one!
Plan an outing with your significant other or a friend. Pick something you love doing or have been wanting to try - an escape room, happy hour at a new bar, or visiting a rock climbing gym. You can even stay home and cook dinner if you want to keep it simple!
Day 12: Do a social media detox
Easier said than done, but avoid looking at any of your social media accounts for the whole day. You might be surprised at how much of a stress-reliever it is! It’s a much-needed break for your mental health. While you stay away from social media, find something else to focus on that maybe you’ve been putting off for a while.
Day 13: Have a hard conversation
What conversation have you been avoiding? Is there something you’ve been wanting to talk to a family member or significant other about? Day 13 is the day to do it! It won’t be easy, but you’ll feel a huge weight lifted when it’s over.
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Day 14: Volunteer
Take the day to volunteer for a cause that matters to you. You’ll feel good devoting your time to others. If you aren’t able to on day 14, schedule another day to make it happen!
Day 15: Create a boundary
Boundaries are necessary for any healthy relationship - romantic or platonic. Think about a current relationship where maybe you’re giving too much of yourself without much in return. Are you in a romantic relationship that seems a bit controlling? Is there a family member that takes advantage of you? Create a boundary for anything that isn’t serving you.
Self Love Challenge Part Four: Your Environment
The way you treat the space around you can actually impact how you treat yourself. Part of self love is to change your environment to create a space that makes you feel good!
Day 16: Buy yourself flowers or a plant
Brighten up your environment with colorful flowers or a fresh, green plant. This can help boost your mood and make you happier!
Day 17: Declutter your space
A messy living space can create a messy mindset, so on day 17, clear out the clutter. Start with a junk drawer and make your way through your biggest messes. Clearing out the mess gives you a clearer mind, which helps you focus more on your self love journey.
Day 18: Treat yourself
As Donna from Parks and Recreation would say, “Treat yo self!” Buy yourself a new piece of clothing, jewelry, or any other item that helps boost your confidence and makes you feel empowered.
Day 19: Ditch clothes that no longer serve you
Time to purge the closet! Get rid of any clothing that doesn’t fit or you’re not crazy about anymore. You can donate whatever you don’t want to keep, and you’ll feel better having a closet full of clothes you actually like!
Day 20: Create a reading nook or sanctuary for yourself
Create a cozy area for you to relax, read a book, or meditate. Grab a comfy chair, pillows, and blankets and settle in for some serious self love.
Self Love Challenge Part 5: Your Activities
Are you spending your days doing activities that bring you joy and confidence? The next part of our 30 day self love challenge is all about focusing on activities that aid in personal growth. Day 21: Treat yourself to a spa treatment
Day 21: Pamper yourself
Get a haircut, mani-pedi, massage, or any treatment that helps you feel relaxed and refreshed. Even if all you have time for is a long shower, do it! Take at least a few minutes to give yourself the me-time you deserve.
Day 22: Try something new you’ve always wanted to do
Think about something you’ve been dying to try but haven’t gotten around to yet. Try it today, or schedule a time to do it in the near future! Trying new things is a great confidence booster that reminds you how much you’re capable of. (And you’ll have fun doing it!)
Did you know trying new things with your partner can bring you closer together? Learn more about how to boost your connection with Relish, our relationship coaching app. Take our quiz and start your 7-day free trial!
Day 23: Listen to your favorite music
Is there any better feeling than getting lost in your favorite music? Create a playlist of all the songs that you can’t help but sing when they come on. Blast them in the car, throw in your headphones while you’re at home, and belt them out in the shower.
Day 24: Read a good book
Time to try out that comfy nook you created for yourself! Grab a good book, cozy up, and get lost in another world for a little while.
Day 25: Have a dance party
Throw on some music and let loose! You can do this alone or with friends, your partner, your kids, or anyone else that wants to boogie down with you. They say “dance like no one’s watching,” and that’s what day 25 is all about.
Self Love Challenge Part Six: Your Finances
Money has a big impact on our lives, so part six of your self love challenge focuses on caring for personal finances.
Day 26: Set a big financial goal
Think about all of your financial goals and decide which one you want to put into motion. Then, come up with a plan to reach it!
Day 27: Open an emergency savings fund
This is a way to protect your future self! It will give you peace of mind to know that if anything happens, you have your back.
If you already have one, evaluate how your saving is going and if you are able to add a little more each month.
Day 28: Review your budget
How is your spending going? Are there any areas you should cut back on, or any areas you can increase your budget? Show yourself some love and reduce your stress by creating a budget game plan.
Day 29: Donate to your favorite cause
No matter how much you decide to give, donate to a cause you care deeply about. If you can, add a monthly donation into your budget plan!
Day 30: Create a financial vision board
Last but not least, end your self love challenge by creating a financial vision board. This is meant to help bring your financial goals to life! Visualizing your future success helps motivate you to work toward achieving it.
Hopefully, by the end of your 30 day self love challenge, you’ll feel happier, more confident, and more self-assured! If there are any challenges you truly enjoyed, try incorporating them into your routine moving forward. The journey to self love is a marathon, not a sprint - so do what you need to create more self compassion one step at a time.
Downloading Relish is an important step toward self love! Both you and your partner can get access to lessons, insights, games, quizzes, and more from real relationship experts. Take our quiz and start your 7-day free trial.
