It is human nature to want affection, to crave love, and to be acknowledged in one way or another.
Wouldn’t you agree?
I mean, there is a reason why relationships are one of the biggest spheres of any person’s life.
They are our source of affection, companionship, and tenderness.
They also form our support system and provide meaning to our lives.
However, there might be times when you don’t feel that you are loved.
This can happen when you have been single for a while, when you are in a romantic relationship that has run its course, or when your friends and family appear distant (even when they are not).
In times like these, you need to take matters into your own hands instead of letting your mind go down the rabbit hole of dark thoughts.
1) Hang Out With Your Loved Ones
Your loved ones can include your parents, siblings, friends, and even your coworkers.
Often, when you are in a state where you don’t feel loved, you might push away your loved ones without even realizing it.
You need to do the opposite.
You need to spend time with your favorite people doing things that you both enjoy.
You could go to a movie, go on a picnic, have dinner together, go on a weekend trip, and so on.
The idea here is to make your mind realize that there are indeed people in your life that love you and care for you.
You are not alone, even though you might have that misconception from time to time.
You share a strong bond with these people, and that means a lot.
2) Remember The Little Things People Do For You
The human mind works in mysterious ways.
When you are in pursuit of your goals, you might tend to forget all your past achievements.
Somehow these get blurred out in your mind.
Similarly, when you are looking for love and compassion from a particular person, you might blur out the love and affection that other people have been showering on you consistently.
For instance, if you want to feel loved by your partner, and for some reason, they are not giving you that love, you might also forget about the love you receive from your parents, siblings, and friends.
This might make you feel like no one loves you.
So, you need to remind yourself that these other people exist and their love is equally important.
One person not loving you doesn’t say anything about you.
It’s the ones that do love you that count.
3) Do Random Acts of Kindness
Wise people often say that the best way to receive love is to give it first.
Maybe it’s due to karma – you reap what you sow.
Or maybe it’s just the way you feel when you make someone else happy.
Whatever it is, you should get into the habit of doing random acts of kindness.
If you are looking for ideas to be kind to others, well, let me give you some.
You could donate things you don’t need to charity, offer to mow your neighbor’s lawn, offer to take someone’s dog for walking, write a great review for something you bought online, let someone else park their car in the spot you just found, do a household chore that is normally done by someone else, and so on.
4) Connect With New People
Often times, as you progress through the journey of life, you lose touch with a lot of your old friends and colleagues.
As you get mired by your responsibilities, the number of people in your social circle gets reduced over time.
This, too, can make you feel like there are not enough people in your life and that you are not loved as a person.
The natural remedy to this situation is to connect with new people.
You know, work will always be there, be it today or 10 years from now.
But you can’t let that affect your personal life.
You have to maintain a balance and make sure that you have a healthy circle of friends.
So, go out and meet new people.
Go on dates, meetings and meet interesting people!
5) Volunteer
Volunteering can help you on multiple levels.
For one, when you volunteer, you are essentially doing your part for the community.
You are making a positive change in other people’s lives or in the world.
Again, not only does this generate good karma, but it also puts a smile on your face.
It also keeps your conscience clear, and you can’t help but feel good about yourself.
Secondly, when you volunteer, you meet new people who care about the same cause.
Your circle of friends grows larger, and that means more people to love and care for you!
Also, who knows, you might just meet the love of your life when you are volunteering.
So, participate in charity drives, tree-planting missions, river-cleaning projects, animal shelter projects, and so on.
As humans, it is in our nature to gravitate toward people with shared interests.
This tendency of ours is the reason why communities, countries, and societies form.
There is a sense of comfort and security when you are with people with similar mindsets and preferences.
It’s almost like being with your family.
It makes you feel cared for and acknowledged.
So, you need to find people with the same interests as you and hang out with them more often.
Again, this could be with your family, friends, coworkers, or even strangers! Y
ou could join a sports club, a music class, a dance class, a yoga class, or any other event, class, or community where you can hang out with like-minded people.
7) Get A Pet
If you have ever owned a pet, or know someone who does, this point must have immediately made sense to you.
It might have even brought a smile to your face.
You see, pets are absolutely adorable.
Be it a cat, dog, rabbit, hamster, or any other animal.
You can feed them, play with them, and just chill with them!
Trust me, having a pet is one of the best ways to feel loved.
When they follow you around the house, cuddle with you, and just randomly do silly things, you can’t help but feel tender and warm.
It’s one of the best feelings in the world.
So, if you have never had a pet, do get one if that’s possible for you.
8) Take Yourself On A Date
Who says you need another person to go on a date!
You can most definitely take your own self on a date.
Self-dates are a great way to make yourself happy especially when no one else is around.
And when you go on a self-date, do things as you would do for an actual date.
That means, going to a nice restaurant, dressing up, ordering awesome food, maybe some drinks, and so on.
If all of this feels a little odd at first, you could try something less fancy.
You could go on a self-date at a cafe, for instance.
Or you could go to a movie by yourself.
Eventually, visiting these places will not only feel normal, but it will also make you happy.
9) Spend Time With Mother Nature
If you want to feel loved, who better to turn to than mother nature.
She has a way of making you feel better no matter what burden you carry on your shoulders.
I am sure you have already experienced how awesome it feels to be amongst the various elements of nature.
It just recharges your mind and makes you feel as though you are being embraced. you will also feel grounded.
So, it’s a good idea to visit your local park or a lake from time to time.
If that’s too much, you could sit in your backyard and just observe the plants and the fresh air that flows around you.
Learn to take in the sights, sounds, and smells of nature.
It will instantly lift your spirits.
10) Forgive Yourself For Past Mistakes
We often feel like other people are too hard on us.
We tend to feel like other people exaggerate our faults and underestimate our abilities and achievements.
But do you know a secret?
We are worse critics of ourselves than other people.
We are often harder on ourselves for our mistakes than others will ever be.
This attitude can keep you in a loop where you constantly feel unloved.
You feel criticized all the time.
So, it’s only obvious what you need to do.
You need to forgive yourself wholeheartedly for all your past mistakes.
And you need to let go of any trauma from those mistakes that you might have been holding on to.
Trust me, this will instantly make you feel lighter.
And the critic inside your head will become silent.
The result? You will be able to love yourself more.
11) Book A Therapy Session
Not feeling loved can often have a grave impact on your mental health.
It can make you overthink everything.
It can also make you doubt your every move and you might eventually feel like you are undeserving of love.
This is not a state you want to be in. It’s not healthy for your health, relationships, career, finances, or any other area of life.
To deal with all of these issues, you could book a therapy session.
Especially if you feel like things have taken a turn for the worse.
A therapist will listen to you kindly and will understand what you are going through.
They will support you and suggest ways to deal with your thoughts and feelings.
In the end, when you start getting better, you will feel loved and cared for.
12) Go On A Shopping Spree
This is what I call “treat yourself.”
If you are the type of person who gets happy when they’re shopping, then this point is especially for you.
When you go to the mall or the market, and buy yourself some goodies, you obviously feel much better.
There is a sense of excitement and happiness that goes with shopping.
Even though some other person is not involved here, you still feel like you are loved.
That’s because buying things you need or want makes you feel cared for.
Even if it is by your own self.
At that moment, you don’t even care that nobody is around.
You just feel… good!
13) Ask For What You Need
Sometimes, the people around you may not know exactly how you want to be loved and cared for.
You might expect one thing, and they might give you something else.
This applies to your family, spouse, girlfriend/boyfriend, and even children.
This is easily solvable.
Just be open to them and ask for what you need.
If random hugs and kisses make you feel loved, ask for it.
If spending quality time together makes you feel loved, ask for it.
Just communicate what you are looking for.
14) Get To Know Yourself Better
Do you spend enough time with yourself?
Do you understand who you are, how you think, how you feel, and what you want in life?
I am sure there are tons of things that you don’t know about yourself.
Sometimes, when you are looking for love in the external world, it’s just to avoid thinking about all the things that are going on inside you.
It’s a way to not engage in the complexities that make you, you.
Be strong enough to take a good, hard look at yourself.
Try to understand your needs and intentions.
Pay attention to your thoughts and emotions.
Why do you feel the way you do?
These answers will lead you to self-discovery.
And that will make it much easier for you to love yourself.
15) Spend Time With Children
Just as pets make us happy, children also make us happy without even trying.
When you see those little humans running around, saying sweet things, laughing wholeheartedly, and doing silly things, you can’t help but feel warm inside you.
And when a child comes and gives you a hug, well, that’s just a magical moment.
So, if you want to feel loved, it’s a good idea to spend time with children.
It could be your own children or your nephews or nieces.
You could play with them at your house, in a local park, at the playground, and have a quality fun-filled time.
16) Get A Massage
Love doesn’t always have to be from people you know and love.
It could also come from strangers in many ways.
For instance, if someone holds the door for you at a coffee shop, that is a form of love.
Wouldn’t you agree?
Similarly, when you go for a massage and the masseuse gives you the most relaxing massage, that is a form of love too!
After all, at that moment, when you are getting a massage, you feel totally relaxed and cared for.
You can literally feel the stress and anxiety leave your body.
It’s the same feeling you get when you are with your loved ones.
So, get a massage from time to time. It could be once a week or even once a month.
17) Say Positive Affirmations
Positive affirmations are short statements that you keep repeating to yourself throughout the day.
These statements are usually about things that you want to manifest in your life.
They could also be to instill new habits or ways of thinking.
So, how do they work in this case?
Well, if you want to feel loved, you could say things like, “I am loved,” “People love me so much,” “I love myself,” “Love flows into my life effortlessly,” “I am so awesome,” “My family loves me so much,” and so on.
Over time, these affirmations can reprogram your subconscious mind and make you feel more loved.
They work by doing away with any negative beliefs you might have been harboring for yourself.
18) Engage In Self-Care Activities
Again, love doesn’t always have to come from other people.
You can love yourself and feel equally great.
So, how do you love yourself?
Well, by engaging in self-care activities.
By definition, these are activities that help you take care of yourself.
These can be taking care of your skin, meditating, taking bubble baths, eating healthy food, exercising, sitting in the sunlight, having a cup of coffee, watching a movie, etc.
The idea is to pamper yourself a bit and do things that are beneficial for your physical, mental, and emotional health.
19) Let Go Of People Who Bring You Down
This is quite an important one.
There might be people in your life that might make you feel like you are unlovable.
They might make you feel like there is something wrong with you by constantly pointing out your flaws.
Eventually, you start believing them.
And so, your need to be loved becomes even bigger.
You fail to see that there are already so many people that do love you!
It’s a no-brainer to let go of people who bring you down.
They will bring nothing but negativity into your life.
Instead, look for people who are good for you.
Find people who will understand you, love you genuinely, and take care of you.
20) Focus On Achieving Things
This is an interesting one.
Have you ever observed that people automatically love and appreciate those with a long list of achievements?
It just happens automatically!
I mean take a look at Elon Musk.
do you think he is loved so much by people that have never even met him?
It’s because he has achieved so many things.
You could try to do the same.
I don’t mean setting up so many companies.
I just mean focusing on what you want to achieve in life.
Just stay consistent, ,pursue your goals and be relentless in your pursuit.
The people around you will admire you for everything you’ll do.
At least the ones that matter, anyway!
