“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” – Lao Tzu

Life does not have to be hard… learning to be kind to ourselves may be simply the best gift one can do for yourself.

Here are 10 tips that can really change your life if you just give them a chance.

1. Slow down. Have you heard: stop and smell roses? It works! Just slowing down, noticing and savouring small things can be the most profound change you can bring in your life.

2. Listen to your body. Our bodies have wisdom beyond our understanding. Learning to be aligned to the language of our body can free our inner voice, help us to feel more fulfilled and make better choices.

3. Find time to enjoy every day.What brings you joy? Be it a hobby, playing with pets, dancing, massage or a simple walk in nature, just find time for whatever makes you smile.

4. Spend time getting to know yourself.Do you really know yourself as well as you think? Do you know what brings you the most joy, or pleasure or peace… Spending time to learn yourself deeply can change positively not only the way you feel about yourself but also can significantly improve your relationships with others.

5. Accept yourself as you are.Every human being has talents, gifts, as well as things we do not like about ourselves. Learning to accept with kindness our human nature, our uniqueness, our lights and shadows, gives us true peace of mind and from that state we are capable of far greater and better things.

6. Uplift yourself. Science proves over and over that negative experiences have more power over us than positive. Celebrating your achievements, watching uplifting films, listening to motivational recordings, following a person you can admire on social media or watching that comedian you always liked, can actually help you to be more positive and happier in everyday life.

7. Honour your dreams. Dreams make our lives worth of leaving. Turn your dreams into goals, work on your talents and find your purpose, so you could feel that your life has a real meaning.

8. Play more. Life does not have to be hard or boring or overly serious. We don’t have to grow up completely, we can always see the world as a playground and enjoy simple pleasures. Yes, sometimes life can get hard, so even more reasons to celebrate, play and enjoy good things and great people we have.

9. Stop trying to impress others. Are you trying hard to impress others? If so, what does it give to you? Is it sustainable? The truth is that we can’t please others all the time, it is draining and not satisfying. Instead focussing on our own beliefs, needs and values can bring so much more joy and peace.

10. Do something kind for others. The way you we treat others is often the way we think about ourselves as well. Being kinder towards others teachers us being kinder and more understanding towards ourselves. And it can feel really good too… try to do a random act of kindness today and see how it feels…