Self Love Sunday: 13 Ideas for Prioritizing Your Wellbeing

This post contains affiliate links and I may receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you sign up or purchase products or services mentioned. Read the full disclosure here.

Last Updated on October 26, 2022

Sunday is different for everyone, but for a lot of us, it’s a slower day where we might have a little more room to dedicate to self love! If that’s the case for you, these Self Love Sunday ideas will help you show yourself a little more compassion.

Self love can be an ongoing battle. Some days we might feel the love less than others. But by regularly practicing activities that lead to self love, you do yourself and your self-esteem a favor! Achieving self love is possible, and the power to experience it is within you.

So, are ya ready for a feel-good Self Love Sunday?!

What does self love really mean?

Self love is all about meeting yourself exactly where you’re at with acceptance. Not to be confused with self care, which is more focused on improvement.

Self love means recognizing your worth, giving yourself grace, and prioritizing your wellbeing and happiness. Self love looks like making sure your own needs are met before trying to serve others–and not jeopardizing your own wellbeing for the sake of pleasing others.

You can’t pour from an empty cup, so make sure your cup is filled before you try to fill others’ cups!

The key to wellbeing is to practice both self love and self care simultaneously. That is, accepting yourself wherever you are at in your journey, while still acknowledging that you have room to grow.

Why is self love so important?

Much of the self-help realm focuses on bettering yourself in some way. While this aspect can be great, too much emphasis on the need to “be better” can be harmful. When you practice self love, you learn to accept where you’re at no matter where you are in your journey.

Self love allows you to understand that progress isn’t linear. There will be ebbs and flows, and you might not always be at your best. And that’s okay!

At the end of the day, you deserve to support yourself and love yourself unconditionally. In fact, doing so results in even better progress in the long run because you aren’t beating yourself up for minor setbacks.

Research shows that self love and self compassion are linked to better resilience and the ability to cope with failure or embarrassment. This means quicker recovery times when you hit a bump in the road.

What do you do on a self love day?

Choosing to practice a self love day (like a self love Sunday!) will help you be intentional about experiencing more self love. Dedicating time to work on important factors like self acceptance, self compassion, and appreciation is a great boost to your self-esteem.

Some ideas for what you can do on a self love day include…

Taking a slow morning
Following your flow wherever it takes you (if you have a lot of energy, maybe your body is telling you to go on a walk and get some movement in!)
Practicing positive affirmations
Writing down the things you’re grateful for about yourself
Treating yourself to a food that fuels your soul

We’ll get into all these ideas and more in this Self Love Sunday post!

13 Self Love Sunday Ideas

These self love Sunday ideas will help you slow down and appreciate yourself on Sundays! From treating yourself, to recognizing your strengths, to showing yourself compassion, these activities have everything you need for self acceptance.

1. Take a slow morning

Start off the self love Sunday by giving yourself a slow, peaceful, and relaxing morning–if you’re able to. Sometimes duty calls and Sunday mornings can’t always go as slow as we’d like, but take advantage of it when it can happen!

This can mean sleeping in, staying off your phone first thing, drinking your cup of coffee slowly and intentionally, or reading a book! Whatever helps you lean into the “slow” factor, go for it.

2. Follow your flow wherever it takes you

On weekends where I have more free time, I like to keep my schedule open if possible. This way, I can just follow whatever my mind and body wants to do. If I’m having a hard time sitting still and staying focused on a computer task, I don’t force it. I take it as a sign that my body is telling me to get up and moving!

Or conversely, if the week wore you out and you really need some extra time to rest, just go with it. Listening to your body and its cues will help you honor yourself.

3. Practice positive affirmations

Positive affirmations are uplifting statements that lead you to a happier mindset. Research actually shows that practicing positive affirmations can help retrain your brain to include more positive self-talk in your inner dialogue.

Want to give positive affirmations a try? I have a few examples for you! Click the posts you’re interested in to read through some affirmations.

Or, if you’re a visual person, you’d LOVE my printable affirmation cards. Print them out and use them as journal prompts, stick ‘em on your mirror for an everyday reminder, or get creative and turn them into a vision board or collage on your wall! Snag them below!

GET THE AFFIRMATION CARDS

4. Treat yourself to a food that fuels your soul

Taking care of yourself and eating healthy is awesome, but every once in a while, you need to practice balance or else you’ll feel too restricted. Don’t feel guilty about treating yourself: eat something you truly enjoy that makes you happy!

You could cook your favorite meal, bake your favorite dessert, or even just grab your fave takeout or fast food!

5. Journal about all your strengths

It’s so easy to focus on all the things we don’t have. Self-comparison can be a real demon, but it’s likely that people are looking at YOU with admiration just like how you look at them!

So take a moment to think long and hard about all your strengths. Everything you bring to the table. Maybe you’re a good listener, intuitive, proactive, responsible. Jot down anything and everything that comes to mind. And don’t take these awesome traits for granted!

6. Buy yourself flowers

Because why wait around for someone to buy you flowers? You can do it for yourself! This act of self love will make your whole self love Sunday feel special. I know that having flowers in my home makes me happy each time I look at them! And you know exactly what you like better than anyone else, so you can pick your favorite flowers!

7. Practice self-gratitude

You might show your gratitude for all the good things around you, but what about yourself? Don’t you think you deserve to take a step back and appreciate all your good qualities too?

You can be grateful for getting yourself to where you’re at right now. For pushing through despite a disadvantage. For working on yourself. Don’t discount yourself! My printable gratitude journal is a great place to start, check it out at the link!

8. Get back into something you haven’t done in a while

This practice is so fueling on a self love Sunday. Picking something back up after forgetting about it for months always feels good! It’s a great way to get your mind away from your typical week-to-week duties and prioritize some leisure time.

For me, I love picking up my paint by number paintings after it’s been a while. I like slowly working toward the end “reward,” which is hanging the painting up in my house!

9. Write a love letter to yourself

Rather than a standard journal prompt, you can take a different approach and write a love letter to yourself! You can acknowledge all the things that make you unique. Your skills, your personality, your ability to be a good friend/partner/daughter/sister, etc.

Imagine you were writing this letter to a dear friend. It would be so easy to name a million things you love about them, right? You deserve the same accolades.

10. Meditate

Yes, I know, every self help blog tells you to meditate. But the thing is, it really helps. I swear by it.

Taking the time to meditate slows your heart rate, calms you down, and grounds you in the present moment. It’s a good way to get in touch with yourself and your body. It helps you tune into the little things, like appreciating your every breath that keeps you going.

But I do know a common complaint with meditation is that it’s hard to stay focused without your mind wandering. This is actually super normal, but it gets better with time and practice. I always recommend the meditation app Headspace for beginners because they have guided meditations that really help my thoughts stay zoned into the meditation! You can try Headspace for 14 days free here with my link.

11. Make a list of all your accomplishments

If you’re a humble, shy person, it might be hard or awkward for you to recognize your accomplishments. But there is NO shame in being proud of what you’ve done! In fact, it’s really important to give yourself credit where credit is due. This can be a major part of your self-esteem!

So make a list of all your accomplishments, no matter how small. These don’t even have to be accomplishments in the traditional sense, like getting a college degree or a fancy promotion. They can be things like getting good at honoring your needs, enforcing your boundaries, or making improvements in your anxiety.

12. Forgive yourself

Is there something you haven’t fully forgiven yourself for? Anything you’re taking the blame for that you don’t need to? Coming to terms with our past isn’t easy, but it’s necessary for moving forward and thriving.

If you struggle with this, flip the script again. Imagine you’re being asked to forgive a friend for the same thing. Would it be easier to give them grace on the matter? What’s holding you back from giving yourself that same grace?

13. Rest

Last but not least, be sure to give yourself rest. Do absolutely nothing. In our hustle culture, we never value rest enough. Except we 100% should because rest is JUST as important for overall productivity.

And more importantly, giving yourself the permission to rest without guilt is crucial. Rest is not a lazy thing, it’s a necessary thing. Take some time wherever you can on your Sunday to take it easy!

Need a little more help with self love? These ideas are a great place to start, but you may need deeper help, like speaking to a therapist. I know therapy has helped me tremendously! I always recommend Online Therapy because it’s a comprehensive, effective online therapy toolkit at an affordable monthly cost. Get 20% off your first month at the link below!

FIND AN ONLINE THERAPIST

Let me know in the comments: