Self Love Tips for Teens

Orange background with a girl on the left side, she has long curly brown hair, and is smiling with her eyes closed. To her right, "self love tips" is written with 3 red heart doodles.

Do you struggle with loving yourself? As teens we are going through so many changes, our hormones are all over the place and as a result so many of us find it challenging to love ourselves, our bodies, and our personalities. In fact we are our own worst critics. But we are amazing individuals who deserve to feel amazing! Here is a list of easy self love tips and ways to boost your self-esteem.

What is self love? Self love means prioritizing your happiness and feeling comfortable in your own skin.

1. Tell Yourself Good Things

When you tell yourself positive things, and daily affirmations, you actually alter your subconscious thoughts. When you hear something over and over again, you are way more likely to believe it!

2. Do What YOU Need

Take some time out of your day or week, and ask yourself “what will make me feel better?” Kind of like a self care day! Sometimes we just need some pizza to cheer us up, or to FaceTime a friend who will lift us up and remind us that we are important. At other times, we need to step away from a situation. Sometimes by taking a walk, being outdoors, talking to a family member or even just getting out of our head by watching a show, it can help us clear our mind.

White desk with napkin in the middle with "self care isn't selfish" written on it. In the top left corner is a green leaf and in the top right corner in a pink coffee cup.

Bright yellow background with girl standing in front. She has long blonde hair tucked behind her ears, and is wearing a yellow sweater. She has her mouth wide-open and an excited look on her face, and she's holding her two hands up in excited fists.

3. Set Goals

Goals help to make a better version of ourselves. It’s important to love ourselves for who we are, but everyone is a work in progress. Identify what you really want to change about yourself. Perhaps this is something that could help boost your confidence, and make you love yourself more. Maybe this means getting your marks up, exercising a bit daily, relaxing more, reading more, or even smiling more. Try to set a timeline and check in on your goals often, maybe even write them down in your agenda or add a reminder in your online calendar. By the end of your timeline, even if you didn’t completely accomplish the goal, celebrate! Treat yourself to your favorite food, or buy something you’ve wanted for a while. Even if you didn’t accomplish your goal, make yourself feel loved by remembering you tried, and that’s more than anyone can ask for!

4. Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

“Comparing ourselves to others is a thief of joy.”

Have you heard this saying? Firstly we are all beautiful and the comparison game leads to nothing but feelings of inadequacy. Also don’t compare your beginning to the middle of someone else’s journey. We are all on different paths. To boost your self-esteem, instead of comparing yourself to others, think of 3 things that you love or like about you!

Two teens comparing themselves, the one on the left with acne, the one on the right without acne.

We hope that this list of self-love tips helps spark some self-love for you, and gives you a small bit of happiness. Again, keep in mind that everyone is a work in progress, even people at school who may seem “perfect”, or celebrities online who look like they have it all figured out. You are an amazing person and deserve to feel amazing.