2. Burn your fears.

An incredibly cathartic way to release negative feelings or obsessive thoughts is to literally set them on fire. In pride of place on my hot pink altar sits a miniature cauldron — I call it my “travel cauldron”— since I have taken it all over the world with me. I buy magic paper which sparkles and sizzles as it burns, tear it into small strips and write down the things I want to release. Then I crumple them up, drop them into my cauldron, and set ’em alight. There’s something primal and wonderful about watching your fears literally go up in smoke.

3. Keep your best qualities on file.

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to forget a compliment? On the other hand, that critique you got in 1992 still echoes in your head today. So frustrating, right? It’s not your fault: we all have a negativity bias that makes the insults stick out while the praise shrinks into the background. Oh, humans. We’re so complicated!

You can get around it, though. When you’re just getting started with radical self-love, it can be hard to see yourself as the magnificent, cosmic miracle you are. Sometimes it’s easier to see yourself through someone else’s eyes.

I want you to start keeping a list of the compliments you receive, and keep the list where you’ll see it every day. Read them aloud to yourself as often as you can. With a little time, you’ll start to believe the beautiful things other people say about you, and you’ll be able to accept them gracefully.

4. Stop putting off your passions.

Your time on this incredible planet is unbelievably limited. You are going to die one day, and nobody knows how much longer they have. Why waste your time doing things that you don’t care about?

You absolutely must carve out time to do the things that light you up from the inside and make your heart chirp like a baby bird. No one else is going to help you make time for these things. Guard your schedule aggressively and make space to write, or dance, or invent, or whatever it is you adore.

Here’s the truth: nothing will make you feel better than working on something meaningful. Pouring energy into your passions makes you vibrate at a higher frequency, and it is so life-affirming. When’s the last time you spoke to someone who was truly passionate about something? Didn’t it make you feel alive? Make it one of your goals to become one of those people.