Self Love

I have been wanting to write a post on self love for a while but I have struggled to adequately and accurately express the complexity of self love, or at least my view of it. Here is my best try. What exactly does it mean to love yourself ? How do you attain self love? How do you exercise self love? How to you retain self love? Why must you love yourself ? Self love isn’t as simple as just treating yourself or thinking highly of yourself, but those are very much a part of it. Here are all the parts that I believe make up self love. 

Acceptance 

Accepting yourself exactly the way you are. Accepting your past, your present. Accepting your journey, your story. Acceptance does not mean you remain stagnant but that you are at peace with yourself. Love yourself enough to not compare yourself to others. You are unique. You are important. You have purpose. You are not better than or less than. You are beautifully you. 

Love

Loving the crap out of yourself. Your mind. Your body. Your soul. Your strengths. Your talents. Your quirks. Your flaws. All of it. Loving everything about you does not mean you are conceited but that you are strong. It feels so damn good to love yourself. Love yourself enough to be you, 100% you, all of the time. 

Learning

Taking the time and putting in the work to learn about and get to know yourself. What is best for you. What you want. What you don't want. How you operate. What you need. Truly knowing yourself will only allow you to better love and care for yourself. We are constantly changing and it is important to stay in touch with yourself. 

Growth

Commitment to your personal growth is key. I accept who I am. I love myself. But I want to continue to better myself and my life for me. Growing is scary and hard but nothing says I love myself more than holding yourself accountable to improve. Celebrate and reward your victories and accomplishments and use it to fuel the next ones. Forgive your mistakes. Don't let your mistakes define you. Learn from your mistakes. Fall and get back up. LOVE YOURSELF UNCONDITIONALLY. Let the love you have for yourself motivate you to keep going. Be your best self. Live your best life.

Letting in and Showing out

Welcome with open arms all the people and things into your life that make you love yourself more. Don't question if you deserve it.  The people and things that are toxic in your life; that make you feel bad about yourself and make you unhappy; let them go. Remove yourself from toxic situations. Love yourself enough to hold onto what makes your life better and be brave enough to remove the rest from your life. You have the power. Trust yourself. Trust your intuition. 

Putting yourself first 

Recognize when you need a break and when you need to say no. Know when to put yourself first. Do so unapologetically. Love yourself enough to not run yourself to the ground. Love yourself enough to stay true to yourself and what you believe in. Love yourself enough to remember your worth and not let yourself be taken for granted or mistreated. 

Take care of yourself/ Treat yourself

Tend to your needs, your wants, your dreams. Listen to yourself. Do what must be done to take care of yourself. This may look a little different for everyone. Don't ignore your dreams. Don't give up on your dreams. Love yourself enough to go at them full force; to have the strength, the confidence and the faith. Always make time for what sets your soul on fire, for what brings you joy. TREAT YO SELF. DO YOU. You deserve it. 

Your love is enough

The love that you give to yourself is enough. No one can love you like you love yourself. You do not need to seek love from others. You do not need to look outside yourself for love. You are whole on your own. You don't need to bring conditional love into your life. The love from others only adds to the love you already have for yourself. 

SPREAD THE LOVE

Those who love themselves, help others to love themselves. They spread their love to all they encounter and touch. They want everyone to experience the fullness that is loving yourself. They often love without reciprocation. When you take care of yourself, you are better equipped to serve and help others.

Me loving myself and my life.