How many hours have you spent in front of the mirror picking apart even minuscule insecurities? It seems that, as humans, we’re simply pre-programmed to criticise ourselves, and most of us do so with gusto.

In reality, though, with many of us picking on flaws that are so small no one else even notices them, these insecurities are a waste of time. Not to mention that they can do untold damage to our confidence. This is why there’s an increasing narrative towards self-care and kindness at the moment, and a lot of that journey starts with finally putting your insecurities to bed.

Of course, this is easier said than done, especially when the ‘be better’ narrative has been such a huge part of our lives for so long. But, there are some surprisingly simple ways to start showing our insecurities who’s boss at last, and we’re going to consider them here. 

Tip 1: Change what you can

Self-love should never be mistaken as a reason to keep on living with changeable things that genuinely bother you. Instead, learning to love yourself often begins with making small changes. Admittedly, it is important to remember that these changes in themselves may not be as miraculous as your insecurities would have you believe. Still, things like exercising to lose weight, or investing in teeth straightening to finally fall in love with your smile can all take away a little of what feeds your negative self-talk. And, without these visible, always-taunting insecurities, you should find it easier to feel good about yourself in the long run.

Tip 2: Challenge your negative thoughts

Once you’ve removed viable, easily addressed insecurities, it’ll be far easier to challenge negative thoughts that are unlikely based on fact. That’s not to say that addressing your negative self-talk will be easy. With those obvious issues out of the way, though, critical thinking about negative thoughts that attack things like your tone of voice, your lifestyle, and more, should see you breaking at least some of those thought patterns. To do this, question any negative thought that arises by considering whether anyone else would care, whether the imagined insecurities are actually important/noticeable, and also why these things have the power to bother you in the first place.

Tip 3: Practise self-love

Once you’ve changed what you can and challenged everything else, it’s time to finally start falling in love with yourself. This is unlikely to happen all at once, but continually challenging your negative self-talk and, importantly, focusing more and more on things that you do like, can lead to incremental positive changes. Practices like looking at yourself more often in the mirror, spending more time alone in a relaxing space, and trying to replace negative thoughts with positive ones, can especially help you to start treating yourself more kindly, and likely begin forgetting some of the imagined insecurities that have held you back until now. 

Insecurities can often feel like an inevitable part of being human, but these top tips can put you back in charge at last.