Self-love is one of my favourite topics, and so comes the need to highlight the reasons why you should love yourself. As I always state, this does not pertain to self-centeredness or egocentrism. It relates to how you feel about yourself, encompassing your self-esteem, self-worth, and self-appreciation. While for others, all these things come naturally, for some people like myself, these virtues had to be learned. If you are struggling with self-love, you are in the right track by being on this site.
8 Reasons why you should love yourself
So many things can lead to self-loathe, and these may include body image or function, abuse, rejection, failure, loss, etc. While some of your reasons for not liking yourself may be valid, there is no reason why you should not attempt to see yourself and life in general from a different perspective. We are at the very end of 2020, It is my wish for you to experience the joy I have found out of learning to love myself. Self-love must be on your top list of 2021 resolutions and here are 8 reasons why you should love yourself.
To be happy
I always say you cannot be comfortable in this world if you are not comfortable in your own skin. A good reason why you should love yourself is for you to be happy in life. No matter how good everything around you may be and no matter how wealthy you may be; if you don’t love and appreciate yourself, you will not be happy. Because deep inside, you feel like a load of crap. And that is the worst feeling anyone could ever have. You have to take a step towards self-love to wipe out the emptiness and void.
You are beautiful
You are beautiful just the way you are. We can not all look like supermodels because we all have a unique purpose and destiny. I’m not so sure what your mirror tells you when you look into it, I’m not here to argue about it either. However, did you know that the mind controls what your eyes see? So if you feel unpretty, or not so nice, it could be all in your head. Of course influenced by past experiences, bullies or insensitive friends and family members. It’s really hard to unbelieve something you have always held on to.
Twisting the argument a little, who says “unpretty” people don’t find true love? I have seen gorgeous people getting married to not so gorgeous ones and live happily ever after. That’s because true beauty lies within you.
Your persistence in dwelling on your not so favourable physical appearance hinders you from reaching your optimum potential in character and personality. That is what sends people away, not your looks. If you could stop ruminating over your looks and work on your character and attitude, your inner beauty will radiate outwards and you will move crowds. You are beautiful, glow from within.
You have a purpose
No one was created or born by mistake. You were created by purpose, for a purpose and it’s a unique one. So no, you can’t be like the other guy. There’s no reason why you should be as cool and witty as the guy next door. I was one person that hated the way my mind functioned and sometimes, I could question the purpose of my existence. But then, I realised not so long ago that I am perfect, all I need is a positive mindset and a grateful attitude. The mind that was my greatest enemy is now my greatest asset and treasure.
You need to look outside the box. Forget the nonsense that society has fed you about how worthless, weird or stupid you are. Get to know yourself at your own terms. It will take some time, but it’s achievable. Shut out the voices, the memories, the counts of abuse, rejection, failures, shut the door to the past and re-discover who you really are. Most often, your most prominent quality defines your purpose.
For instance, my most prominent quality has always been overthinking and before I knew how to use my mind, I always got into trouble and often ended up lonely and I hated it. But, it is my overthinking that led to the creation of this blog and many other beautiful things I’m doing with my life to reach out to others. What I do fills me with satisfaction that makes me feel worthy.
You have a purpose, but you can’t see it if you have a negative mindset.
To love others better
An empty well will never give water. You cannot give something that you don’t have, something you don’t feel. You need to experience self-love to learn how to love others. Otherwise, you may end up losing all the good people in your life. Not because you are unlovable, but because you are not giving love the right way.
Sometimes the people that raise us do not teach us how to give ourselves to love, but we can learn. I never knew how to love and because of that, I had nobody but my husband by the time I was 30. And that was because he refused to give up on me. I realised I could lose him too if I didn’t make more efforts to learn how to love and give myself selflessly. I’m not perfect, but I know I’m getting there because I have seen a change in how people in my life currently other than my husband, are relating to me.
Unless you want to be lonely all your life, you must learn to love yourself so you can love others better.
To be more lovable
It’s easy to love someone that loves and appreciates themselves. It’s like discrediting a book before trying to sell it, no one will buy it. You must believe in your own worth for others to see it too. Otherwise, it appears like you have some dark knowledge about yourself that causes self-repulsion. Obviously, others will be cautious too. And no matter how much you try to hide it, thoughts are not so private. So long you think it, others are prone to see it.
Additionally, individuals that struggle with self-love and self-esteem tend to be petty and take trivial issues too personal. This may discourage and push away those that really want to love you or get close to you. Because every simple disagreement will seem like a personal attack to you making you feel victimised. This disrupts rational thinking on your part and creates communication barriers because you are always in defence mode.
You’ll be able to handle life situations better
Life is not always a joy ride. It’s full of failures, rejection, illnesses, loss, suffering and other misfortunes. It’s easier to handle all these if you have a good relationship with yourself. Take for instance you get rejected or dumped. If you already loathe yourself, you will take it badly by blaming yourself and taking it as proof of your worthlessness or extent of stupidity. Even when it wasn’t your fault and the stupid one was your partner, you are prone to attack yourself, or worse, get into depression.
Life is rough, not only on your end but for most people if not everyone. We all have something that is against our favour but if you dislike yourself, you are prone to react to life situations in a bad and unhealthy way.
To increase your productivity
It has been proven that individuals with healthy self-esteem are more productive than those with low self-esteem. This is another reason why you should love yourself because self-love and self-esteem are closely related. When you love yourself, you will believe in yourself and this will give you the confidence to take on any challenge that will come your way.
Additionally, you will be able to get up when you fall and give yourself another chance to try and try again till you succeed. People that do not love themselves usually give up or quit faster in life.
To enjoy life
I’m guessing you have been in that state of self-loathe for some time now. By any chance, has something productive come out of hating yourself? Perhaps hating yourself has improved your personal relationships and made it easier for others to like you? Please, share in the comments below if you have a favourable answer to any of these questions.
But I can tell you from personal experience that loving yourself changes everything. From what gets to you or annoys you to how people perceive and treat you.
You might want to read the 16 practical ways of learning self-love to get you started with self-love. Hope you are motivated enough to search and believe your true worth, I would love to hear from you. Remember to subscribe, be well.
