Self-care is something that has gone viral in the media. People love the idea of taking time to relax and take care of themselves. But what about self-love? It doesn’t have this same reputation as self-care, but it may be the most valuable self-care that there is. In this post, our peer educator, Bella, outlines what self-love is and also talks about how to practice it.
The Importance of Self Love
by Isabella Mena
Self-love is confident, warm and caring. It’s the complete acceptance of who, and what you are – the appreciation and affirmation of yourself.
It’s the unconditional support, self-care, and compassion you give yourself that ultimately translates to good health, great self-esteem, happiness, total balance and well-being.
Therefore, I feel that self love is necessary to living a healthy lifestyle, and a fundamental value that can generate inner peace and positivity.
What Self Love is NOT:
Self love is not that desperate need to be better or more deserving than others. It is not being selfish or vain. It is not conditional on certain desired outcomes. And it’s not the exaggerated sense of importance that stems from classic narcissism.
What True Self Love Is:
Self love is open and honest validation.
It is the biggest commitment; to get to know and accept yourself as you are. To fully experience life To FULLY experience life as it happens to you.More importantly, to continually seek ways to physically, psychologically, and spiritually grow from these experiences.
True self love is validating yourself. Its giving yourself unconditional respect, appreciation and evaluation of being great! It’s reminding yourself that you deserve to have all your personal needs met, while considering yourself as worthy, valuable, and deserving of happiness.
Its confidently knowing that no matter what you will always love yourself, be true to yourself, and be your OWN number one fan.
Why It’s Important to Love Yourself
It’s important to love yourself because of the simple truth that you cannot take care of others until you take care of yourself first. When you fully love yourself, this gives you the opportunity to move through the world with deeper compassion for others.
Also, you’ll have greater resilience to withstand any challenging life event or personal adversity. Depression, anxiety, stress, and the obsession with perfection, will vanish in the face of pure optimism that self love creates!
Self Love is a Practice
Self love is a practice, its is something you learn and implement into your everyday life.
A few things that I feel like should be considered and known when it comes to self love:
You are the main focus – It all starts with you and ends with you. You’re going to be with yourself for eternity. Which means, you want to operate from a place of self-loving, rather than self-loathing.
You care for yourself the most – Nobody is interested in you – your well-being, health, safety, happiness, and existence – more than you. No one knows better than you, what makes you happy, or what hurts you most. No one thinks of you, or exists ready for your rescue, support or comfort. No one can make better choices for you, or give you a better opinion of what you need to do – other than yourself. No one is here for your spiritual growth – but you.
You are the only person that can bring yourself up, or down – You determine your attitude, the way you react, and your outlook day to day. This way, if you love yourself, you will be mindful of the way you feel and how you feel it.
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