Are you satisfied with who you are? Most would say no, I would say never.
What exactly is self-love? Is it the utmost pride for oneself? Is it acceptance of one's being?
Too many of us find it difficult to love oneself when there are many flaws and standards unmet.
If you are one of those people who struggle to love themselves or unsure, High Existence lists the following as issues of self-love:
- Being hyper-critical of yourself
- Difficulty in loving others (because you must first love yourself)
- Self-sabotage (not doing what you KNOW you should be doing)
- Being self-conscious in social situations
- Difficulty in fully accepting compliments
- No accomplishment is ever enough, even temporarily
- Not valuing your own time and priorities (being overly nice to others)
Personal Story
I have struggled with self-love for the longest time. In fact, I was not fully aware that I lacked self-love until researching about it because I was more so concerned by the term of self-hatred.For some people, looking in the mirror may be a painful thing. They do not like what they see for many possible reasons. For me, I do not see the Taylor everyone else sees. I see an unrecognizable face. Still this day, I find it difficult to accept who I am as an individual.
Tips To Love Yourself
Evelyn of Abundance Tapestry compiles a list of ways to love yourself."In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invinsable summer. - Albert Camus
- Fall in love with yourself
- Eliminate Self Criticism
- Be Kind And Positive
- Acknowledge Your Effort
- Trust Yourself
- Be Truthful To Yourself
- Grow Spiritually
- Make Positive Affirmations Everyday
- Express Gratitude
- Nurture Your Dreams
- Boost Your Self Confidence
- Relax
- Have fun
- Look After Your Body
- Learn To See Beauty
This is an intriguing post. You mention two dual issues: self-love and self-loathing here. And I think it would be helpful for you to put this into perspective with some anecdotal evidence (either in your own life or in the lifes of those you're reading through your research) to show others what this means in real-life. Because, honestly, it's more than just feelings, once in a while, of frustration and depression.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'd like to see you credentialize those websites that you hyperlink to. What are your sources' credentials? Naming them in your own writing will educate readers before they make those jumps.
It's an interesting idea, self-love. I think it's even possible to love and loath ourselves for the same reasons.
ReplyDeleteImagine a person with a problem of over-eating. Why does he do it? Comfort? Taste? Hunger? If any or all of those are true, then he's doing it to please himself. If you want to please someone, it's perhaps a sign of love, so any action to please oneself could be interpreted as self-love.
At the same time, he still loathes the fact that he's slave to loving himself, and giving into his own desires. So in the end, it becomes rather complicated as the line blurs between self-love and self-loathing.
Just some thoughts.