Relationships are hard, and finding information about how to have a better relationship with a significant other, friend, or family member is easy. However, no one is talking about the most important relationship there is. Your relationship with yourself. Your relationship with yourself should be number one priority above a relationship with anyone else. After all, those other folks may come and go, but you are only stuck with one person forever: yourself. Of course, having a good self-relationship is also healthy for you! It reduces stress and anxiety, provides more quality of life, and tends to have a positive impact on relationships with others in your life.

So, in order to help you build a better relationship with yourself, we have outlined four skills to creating a positive self-relationship.

Take Care of Yourself

This one might seem like a no brainer, and yet it still seems to be the step that gets pushed to the bottom of the to-do list. Taking care of yourself is crucial to your health and ultimately to your happiness. This step includes eating healthy, satisfying meals. Getting enough sleep at night. Making the appropriate time to exercise and allowing yourself to participate in activities that help to reduce your stress. Further, taking care of your mental health is necessary for not only your well-being, but the well-being of the people who are in your daily life. Mental health is still a bit of a taboo subject, but it is okay to seek help in this area if you feel you need you.

Take Time to Reflect

Reflecting on your day-to-day life can create a lot of joy and peace in your world. There are a lot of ways that you can accomplish reflection, but I think making the time to do this is crucial. After all, in any other relationship, the cornerstone for building that relationship is to make time for the other person. Make time to be with yourself. Meditation has become a popular practice for self-reflection in this day and age. Less dedicated, but equally beneficial is the practice of mindfulness which is a guided thinking/breathing practice that imitates meditation in some ways. Journaling, blogging, and video blogging are all also popular ways of reflecting. But if none of these ideas strike a chord with you, simply getting some quiet time in the morning with a cup of coffee can be an excellent choice for quiet, reflection time.

Splurge on Yourself

Think about the last time you were in a relationship. Splurging on your friends, significant other, or even on your family can be a way to show your love and appreciation for that other person. With that in mind, spending a little extra cash on something special for yourself is an excellent way to show yourself some extra love. This does not have to be an elaborate purchase either. Do you love bath bombs, but have run out because it is three months after Christmas? Go buy one. Want to try a new type of Starbucks coffee? Run through the drive through! Seriously, go splurge on yourself right now, and do not even think about feeling guilty as you do it.

Do Something Fun for Yourself

Lastly, do something a little fun for yourself every now and then. We all have guilty pleasures that we enjoy doing by ourselves. Make time for those and do not let anyone keep you from enjoying them. We all deserve a little “me” time. Making time for yourself, and building a better relationship with yourself will only improve your quality of life on all fronts.