Do you really know what SELF-LOVE is?
- Self-love.
- Love yourself.
- Treat yourself the way you would treat a friend.
We hear this everywhere these days. There are tons of books and podcasts on this topic.
But do we really know what it truly means to “love yourself”?
Most of us think that SELF-LOVE means taking care of our “physical self”.
- Having a self-care routine
- Exercise and a healthy diet
- Giving yourself a break once in a while
- Treating yourself when you finish a task and so on….
Taking care of your physical apparatus is of course a part of loving yourself but I feel that loving yourself has more to do with loving your “internal self” than just your “external self”.
You might be doing all the right things to keep yourself healthy and happy but if you are beating up on yourself or if your inner dialogue is always negative, discouraging, harsh, mean, and rude to you then you are NOT practicing “self-love”.
Self-love is an internal thing.
Ask yourself this question:
What would I do if I love myself?
One of the most important habits to CHANGE is to stop beating up on yourself or punish yourself.
Now, you might argue that you never punish yourself.
Well, of course, you never punish yourself physically but what about mentally?
Do you call yourself names when you can’t do something?
Do you think that you don’t deserve to be happy when your life isn’t going the way you want?
Do you constantly feel like you are not good enough?
Do you suffer from low self-esteem?
If the answer to these questions is YES; well then, you don’t love yourself as much as you THINK you do.
Self-Love=Self-acceptance
Making a commitment to unconditional self-love means you become willing to love every aspect of yourself without judgment or conditions-especially the parts of yourself that you often wish were different.
don Miguel Ruie Jr.
This is what I feel SELF-LOVE looks like:
- You are OKAY with your flaws and accept them as part of being human.
2. You encourage yourself when you fail or make a mistake instead of beating up on yourself.
3. You truly believe that you deserve to be happy even when things seem difficult.
4. You don’t blame yourself when life doesn’t seem to go the way you want.
5. You put yourself first and set healthy boundaries rather than prioritizing other people’s problems and needs all the time.
6. You are aware of your needs and wants and make sure to fill your cup.
7. You are aware of your worthiness and respect yourself and you are strong enough to walk away from people who don’t treat you well or take advantage of you; you love yourself.
8. You are proud and aware of your strengths and abilities.
9. You appreciate yourself and are proud of how far you have come even though the journey ahead is a long one.
10. You do not seek other people’s validation or other people’s permission to do what you KNOW is good for YOU.
11. You allow yourself to express yourself and not make yourself small so that others can feel big.
12. You allow yourself to do what feels good and not allow other people’s opinions to affect you.
13. You enjoy yourself and enjoy your life irrespective of your current situation.
Self-love is anything but easy.
You owe yourself the love that you so freely give others
Unknown
We have so many responsibilities and so many people that want us to be a certain way or behave a certain way that it is really difficult for many of us to break the cycle and set ourselves free!
Self-Love is a lifelong practice that we need to cultivate and cherish.
We live in a society that wants us to do the “right things” and make the “right choices” about our careers, relationships, education, marriage, and all the things that are important to us.
Oftentimes, we KNOW what is ‘right’ for us but we are too afraid to disappoint others.
As weird as it may sound; “it is easier to disappoint ourselves than to disappoint others.”
It often takes a lot of time, to rediscover who we are and shed the layers and layers of conditioning to learn to truly accept and love ourselves.
Be easy on yourself and take one step every day to ‘love yourself.’
Self-love is what we need to create a life that we truly want to live.
I hope that you love yourself and see the beautiful, loving, and caring soul that YOU are.
I wish you all the best on your journey to ‘self-love’!
Much Love,
Deepika ❤
