Day 4 is about how to incorporate mindful self-compassion into your everyday life, so that over time you can rewire and tame your inner critic.

As we talked about in Day 2, self-love isn’t just a switch you can flip on and off. Like everything else in life, it takes practice and time.

Here are some simple ways that you can nurture a self-love practice that’s sustainable over time.

1. Remind yourself every day that this is a lifelong journey, and you are not alone on it.

Almost everyone will tell you that they struggle with authentic self-love. And this type of work is easier if you have someone along with you — so don’t hesitate to invite a friend!

2. Trust the process.

Research shows that mindfulness builds resilience and emotional, mental, and physical wellbeing. Every little bit — even just a few minutes a day — will start to have a positive impact over time.

3. Give yourself full permission to celebrate progress.

Rewiring your brain to respond out of a place of genuine self-care and self-regard is huge. Every time you pause, breathe, or choose kindness and gratitude — these are all moments worth celebrating.

4. Find the tools that resonate, and use them.

Mindfulness can come in a thousand different forms, and there’s no one “right” way to build mindful self-love practice. If you love walking meditations, do them. If you prefer eyes open or eyes closed, great. If you find a 2-minute breathing exercise helps to calm you enough to open you to kinder thoughts about yourself, do that. Take advantage of all the support and wisdom out there that can accompany you on this journey.

Sit down with a journal and brainstorm a list of things that make you feel most alive, at peace, and truly yourself.

Notice any common threads — silence, nature, movement, creativity, music, etc. These can lend clues to where to start exploring mindful practices that might resonate most strongly for you.

Inside the app, you’ll find a variety of self-compassion resources, from quick breathing exercises and grounding practices to helpful talks and flexible guided meditations.

You can explore the app or try one for yourself below.