4 New Things I’ve Added to My Daily Routine to Enhance Self-Love and Personal Growth

Largely confined to my home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I have more time than ever to learn how to love myself and to grow as a person.

I know. Yippee.

It’s almost like the universe is nudging me to go within since there are so few available distractions outside.

I’ve been reading a lot of self-help books and consuming loads of content related to personal growth, which is how I arrived at choosing the following activities to incorporate into my daily routine.

Because I started these activities this month, it’s too soon to call them habits. I’ll certainly provide updates of my journey on the blog.

Here are four new activities I’ve added to my daily routine to develop my self-love and personal growth.

Taking Cold showers

I hate feeling cold. I have an extremely low tolerance for feeling cold.

I live in Canada, by the way.

The reason I decided to give cold showers a try was because I need to work on doing uncomfortable things so that I can strengthen and shift my mindset.

Although there are apparently multiple physiological benefits of taking cold showers, my motivation is mainly focused on improving my mindset and learning to love myself.

I’ve taken 13 cold showers so far, and plan on sharing my cold shower journey in a future post.

In the meantime, here are a couple of sources discussing the benefits of cold showers.

Wim Hof Method

Known Benefits of Cold Showers

Healthline

Cold Shower Benefits for Your Health

Meditating

I think I first tried meditating about five years ago. Being a beginner and full of doubt about my ability to sit still for a prolonged period, I searched for a podcast that taught meditation in bite-sized, manageable sessions. Enter the Meditation Minis Podcast – a guided meditation podcast with host Chel Hamilton.

I found that meditating for just a few minutes a day helped with my anxiety. I have no idea why I ever stopped meditating.

To re-introduce meditation into my daily routine, I downloaded a free meditation and breathing app called Oak (only available on iPhone and iPad).

In addition to Oak, I’ve downloaded several guided meditations by Tara Brach.

You can find a vast library of free guided meditations on her website (www.Tarabrach.com).

Brushing my teeth with my non-dominant hand

Brushing my teeth with the opposite hand is another way for me to practice doing things that are uncomfortable. It’s definitely awkward, and I experience this awkwardness twice a day.

Aside from the potential psychological benefits of doing things outside our comfort zones, some research suggests that doing things with your non-dominant hand or the opposite hand can strengthen your brain.

Jim Kwik, who used to be called the “boy with the broken brain,” specializes in teaching people how to use their brain power to reach their full potential.

“One part of the brain controls the opposite side of the body, and there’s also a body-brain connection: using a different part of your body to do a task will train a different part of your mind and help you to build brain fitness.”

Saying positive affirmations in front of the mirror

Positive self-talk while looking in the mirror is the latest exercise I’ve added to my daily routine.

Although I have been saying affirmations since November 2019, I haven’t been saying them while looking at myself in the mirror.

I decided to try it after reading about Mirror Work on the Louise Hay blog.

According to Louise Hay, saying affirmations in front of the mirror is powerful, as “the mirror reflects back to you the feelings you have about yourself. It makes you immediately aware of where you are resisting and where you are open and flowing. It clearly shows you what thoughts you will need to change if you want to have a joyous, fulfilling life.”

There’s a 21-day program called Mirror Work: 21 Days to Loving Yourself on the website, but I’m just doing my own version of mirror work.

My Version of Mirror Work

What I’ve been doing is treating my reflection in the mirror as though I were a good friend. A loving and encouraging friend.

And I freely switch from using “I/I am” and “you.”

When I wake up in the morning, I look in the mirror, smile and say, “Good morning. Good morning, Grace!”

After my cold rinse in the shower, I step out, look in the mirror, and say things like:

• I’m proud of you. I’m proud of you, Grace. Keep going.
• I love you.
• You’re a good person.
• I am worthy.
• I am enough.
• Thank you. Thank you for loving me.

I haven’t yet implemented a set schedule to do mirror work. So far, I just make a point to say something kind to myself while looking in the mirror at least once a day.

Perhaps I should be more intentional about looking in the mirror. Maybe I should set a timer to remind me it’s Mirror Time!

I usually get emotional and end up with a tear-stained face, but I’m hoping the tears are a good sign that something inside me is starting to heal.

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What new things have you added to your daily routine to augment your personal growth?