Before you fall in love with someone else, you should really fall in love with yourself.
It’s important to truly know who you are, what your core values are, and what type of person you want to be before you start to give pieces of that away to someone else.
If you jump into a relationship with someone before you truly know yourself, you’re getting into dangerous territory. It’s very easy to be influenced by someone else and find yourself molding who you are to fit their personality and lifestyle.
In order to truly have a solid relationship with someone, you need to fully understand and love yourself first. You’ll have plenty of time to give away to someone else once you find the one. Beforehand, don’t be afraid to embrace this opportunity and dedicate your time to improving yourself.
Here are the top five steps for being your best self before you start dating someone.
1. Evaluate your diet
This doesn’t mean you need to jump on a trendy diet and try to shed 10 pounds of water weight in a week. In fact, it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to lose weight at all.
It’s true when they say you are what you eat. If you don’t eat a healthy diet, you won’t feel healthy. And if you don’t feel healthy, you won’t be your best self. Following a healthier meal plan, such as a plant-based or low-carb diet, can help improve your energy levels and concentration. Once you find your soulmate, you’re going to want to make sure that you can fully give them the attention they deserve.
Avoid carb-heavy diets or foods with simple sugars that will give you a short boost before an energy crash. Find nutrient-rich foods that nourish your body and improve your overall health. You can even make this an exciting adventure to test out new recipes, expand your palette, and learn some cooking skills that you can show off later!
2. Work on your beauty sleep
If you’re like one-third of North American adults, you probably aren’t getting enough sleep at night.
Missing out on sleep consistently can lead to devastating consequences. While it may start with you experiencing trouble concentrating and irritability during the day, the negative effects of sleep deprivation can pile up and increase your risk of obesity, heart disease, and other serious health complications.
Make sure you develop healthy sleeping patterns to get the quality seven to nine hours of sleep that you need each night. If something’s getting in the way of your sleep, nip it in the bud! Use blackout curtains to block out bright lights, a white noise machine to mask disruptive sounds, or turn down the temperature to around 65-68 degrees for optimal sleep. If you’ve exhausted all your options, there may be an underlying issue – your mattress.
The average lifespan of an innerspring mattress is only seven to eight years, even with proper rotation and care. The components of your bed may no longer be supportive or comfortable, or you may just be sleeping on the wrong type of mattress for your needs. Take the time to evaluate anything that gets in the way of your beauty rest. It’s never worth it to sacrifice your sleep and your good mood. No one wants to date someone who wakes up on the wrong side of the bed.
3. Develop a skin care routine
The older you get, the more necessary this becomes. Throughout your teens, you may have been able to get away without having a solid skin care routine, but once you get into your twenties and beyond you should start to take your skin’s health seriously.
A good skin care routine looks different for everyone. Yours should be tailored to your needs. But don’t panic — it’s not as hard as it sounds. Take some tips from the experts to get started on your way to better skin:
• Find a quality cleanser to remove dirt and oil from your pores
• Follow up with a toner to clear anything you missed
• Use a moisturizer to keep your skin hydrated, probably one containing SPF. Even if you have oily skin this is an important step to achieving healthy skin.
If you’re lost on where to start and don’t know how to address your specific needs, consider consulting with a professional who can help you identify what type of skin you have and the best plan-of-action for taking care of it properly.
4. Follow your passions
When you land that first date with your dream partner, they’re going to ask about your interests. If you don’t have anything to say, you’ll seem like an uninteresting and narrow person. Take the time to follow your passions. What gets you excited? What ignites a fire in you? Do that!
Whether it’s painting, snowboarding, or deep sea diving, find the things that excite you in life. Your passions are part of what defines you. Make sure you know the answer when the time comes. They may just be the reason your future partner falls in love with you.
5. Dedicate time to your home
In the hustle and bustle of life, you may find yourself running around and getting lost in the hecticness of things. Don’t forget to take care of the one place you return to relax and unwind at the end of a long day.
A cluttered and messy home will have detrimental effects on your well-being, both physically and mentally. A mess causes stress and sends an invitation to critters and mounds of dust that can impact your air quality and breathing, especially if you suffer from asthma. Keep a clean and healthy home to protect yourself (and impress your future partner when you bring them home for the first time).
You should also take the time to really make your home your own. Besides, you won’t be living alone forever. Embrace this time you have to fully create your individual haven. This is a great chance to find your personal style and experiment with it. Creating a home that serves as your own personal sanctuary is one of the best things you can do to best the best version of you.
Once you find your dream partner, you’ll never wish to be alone again, but you’ll be especially grateful for the time you took for yourself before they came around. It can be easy to lose yourself and let yourself fall in the background of all the chaos of life as you focus on your career, social, and personal life. Be intentional about dedicating your time to yourself. It’s important to be your best self for your own well-being, and it will also help attract the person you’ve been looking for. When you really know yourself, your dream partner will find you.
