Everyone fights their own little battles every day, whether it’s out in the real world or the ones we have within ourselves. The battles we encounter within ourselves are the hardest because we fight them completely alone and our thoughts and insecurities can become overwhelming. However, it is a fight that we all have to go through to reach complete liberation from our inner demons that prevent us from becoming comfortable in our own skin and living our best lives. To help you with your battle, here are some weapons you can try.

1. Practice Self-Love

Many people think that practicing self-love means pampering yourself with a shopping spree, a relaxing bath, or a nice meal. While that is important to have every once in a while, self-love is a constant state of mind that takes a lot more mental effort. Practicing self-love is identifying your strengths and the things you love about yourself. It’s not being harsh on yourself when you make a mistake. It’s distancing yourself from anything that disturbs your peace and being unapologetically yourself. The more you practice these things, the more you will feel comfortable with yourself.

2. Shed Away Labels

Nowadays, the world we live in is very stereotypical, separating people by categorizing them under certain labels that may not be true. One of the most important steps towards being comfortable in your own skin is shedding away any labels society, or people have given you. They enforce pressure to either adhere to them or prove they don’t apply to you. These labels do not define who we are, especially because they are given by people who don’t know the real you. Only you know who you truly are, so disregard these labels and create your unique identity.

3. Embrace Your Flaws

Some people seem to forget that mere humans cannot achieve perfection. They always feel guilty about their flaws or mistakes and carry them around in shame. However, it’s much simpler to embrace flaws and learn to accept and make peace with them. This doesn’t mean, of course, that you shouldn’t try to improve them. Look at your flaws from a different perspective, a chance for growth. Part of becoming more comfortable in your own skin is always striving to better yourself because knowing you are at least trying and doing the work will bring you more peace with yourself.

4. Pay Attention to Your Thoughts

Our thoughts have a lot more power than we realize, that’s why there are many famous sayings about being the master of your mind, not the other way around. Be aware of these thoughts that may be controlling you. The experts at Lovely Refinement believe that practicing mindfulness helps you face your thoughts and take control of them. To feel more comfortable with yourself, change the way you think about the world as well as yourself. Try not to think about worst-case scenarios and start thinking about all the good things that could happen to you with each new day.

5. Stop Seeking Approval

One of the things that may be why you don’t feel comfortable in your own skin is always trying to please others and living up to their expectations. Seeking approval or validation from others is the biggest injustice you could do to yourself. Constantly trying to achieve the version of yourself in other people’s minds is mentally and emotionally exhausting, and in the midst of it all, you start to lose sight of who you truly are. You have to build your self-worth and consider your opinion of yourself as the only one that matters.

6. Surround Yourself With The Right People

You can’t reach the level of being entirely comfortable with yourself if surrounded by people who ruin any progress you achieve. It’s important to distance yourself from people who are constantly judgmental and negative, causing you to feel bad about yourself and affecting your mindset. Their toxic behaviors or criticisms lead you to question yourself and whether you are lovable. Instead, make sure you surround yourself with people who accept you as you are and care about you enough to help you become the best version of yourself.

There you have it. These are some of the things you can do to become more comfortable in your own skin. Of course, no guide applies to every individual; it’s a different personal journey for everyone. You have to realize that it will be a long journey with many ups and downs you’ll need to wither through. The most important thing is to believe in yourself, that you are strong enough to get on that bumpy road towards feeling at complete peace with who you are.