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I know this to be true because it’s what happened to me once I finally learned to accept myself fully and love myself completely.

And that love set me free.

We spend a good chunk of our lives weighed down by other people’s opinions and expectations of us. It is exhausting, to say the least.

So, what, exactly, is self-love? Simply stated, it is the love of self and regard for one’s own happiness.

And, why, exactly is it so important? Rupi Kaur may have said it best:

“How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you.”

The way we show up for ourselves every single day teaches the people in our lives how to show up for us. If we are not treating ourselves with love, kindness, patience and respect, how can we expect other people to do the same? They learn from what we teach them.

Self-love helps us to take care better care of ourselves, which in turns helps us to better take care of others.

Here are some important ways we can practice self-love:

>> Understanding our feelings, thoughts, and behaviors: Don’t discount any of it. All our feelings are valid.

>> Staying true to yourself in all areas: Don’t compromise what’s important to you in order to fit in with anyone else.

>> Taking care of not only our physical health, but also our mental health: It’s vital to take care of our minds, and bodies. Regular exercise and enough sleep are a good place to start.

>> Believing in our abilities to tackle the hurdles life throws at us: Don’t forget that you can do hard things. Dig deep and find your strength.

>> Being able to handle not only the good times, but also the bad times: We need to learn to take the good with the bad. Making it through the bad times helps us to appreciate the good times even more.

>> Setting healthy boundaries and enforcing them: Not doing these things leaves us susceptible to being taken advantage of, disappointed, and hurt.

>> Embracing our whole selves, which includes the parts that aren’t perfect: There is so much power in learning to love your whole self.

Life is so hard at times. It’s also fleeting. We need to remember to be happy as often as possible. And a big part of finding my happiness was learning how to love myself.

When I am taking care of myself and respecting what’s important to me, I’m able to truly embrace how beautiful life can be.

You deserve to be a priority to yourself. You deserve to treat yourself with the same grace and understanding and patience that you treat others. You, yourself, are more deserving of your love than anyone else.

Please try not to forget that.

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