3 Tips to Become Your Own Best Friend

Feeling comfortable and happy with who you are can enrich your life and even improve your overall mental well-being and relationships with others. Here are 3 tips to start building a healthy relationship with yourself!

By Marianne Wylie, MSW, RSW

1. Prioritize yourself.

Carve out some regularly scheduled “me time”. Do an activity that you enjoy that brings you peace and enjoyment. Do a puzzle, get into some arts and crafts, watch that game or show, have a bath. Consider something that you used to do often but don’t anymore. No, taking time for yourself is not a bad thing. It’s good to have some time to focus on just you. It doesn’t mean that you care less about others. It means that you care about yourself as much as you do others and that is healthy.

2. Write a journal entry that lists your positive qualities.

It doesn’t have to be a narrative. Even try a bullet point list of your positive qualities. Consider asking yourself: What do others say they like about you? What do you like about yourself (no matter how small)? What skills do you have? What makes you unique? Here’s a list to consider to start you off: kind, hardworking, loyal, strong, friendly, cheerful, honest, funny, patient, helpful…

3. Go on a date with yourself!

Yes, you read that right. Take yourself out on the town, alone. When we begin dating a potential partner, we go on dates to get to know them - to learn about their likes and dislikes. Taking yourself out to dinner somewhere, for a nice walk at the waterfront or to the movies can be a great way to learn more about yourself. Feeling hesitant? Exploring this can be a way of getting to know yourself too. Consider asking yourself: What is this hesitation about? Is it because it is something new or are you worried about what others think? You never know what you’ll discover about you!