Love Yourself First
Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone!
A day filled with and dedicated to love. We all know it's essential to love and to give love. But it's also essential to love yourself too, and you should likely start there first. Self-love supports healthy self-esteem, which is a prerequisite for a healthy relationship. Without sufficient self-love, we are not capable of truly loving others. Love can only develop once you make your own happiness a priority. The same thing is said for things like forgiveness and acceptance. To truly forgive and accept others, we must first forgive and accept ourselves as we are.
There is a lot of growth that comes from engaging in loving relationships. Whether that is with friends, family, significant others, or whomever. But it stems from having healthy self-love. When we have healthy relationships, we practice things like love, forgiveness, and acceptance.
Healthy self-love and self-esteem, however, are all about balance. Low self-esteem is typically linked to feeling that we are less deserving of love and happiness ourselves. Thus we tend to emit the same type of love (or lack of) to others. Conversely, too high of self-esteem and self-love can lean towards narcissism and self-centeredness.
I think I spent a lot of my life trying to love others first, without genuinely loving myself and who I was. Scared to accept my own flaws. The truth is it is harder to love and forgive and accept ourselves than it often is to do with others. The problem with this is that it inevitably can lead you down the road to broken relationships.
We are built to make connections with others. We need other people in our lives. Relationships. People to love. It is often through these connections that we can reflect upon and heal ourselves. It's often from these connections that a flame inside us is re-sparked, allowing us to see ourselves as worthy of love. The more you give, the more you get.
Don't be afraid to love yourself first. Because with it, you can add value to others and act with confidence and love. With it, you will make healthy choices that nurture your own well-being and make a positive difference to those around you.
May the love hidden deep inside your heart find the love waiting in your dreams. May the laughter you find in your tomorrow wipe away the pain you find in your yesterday's.
Make today great!
Curtis
"This is the miracle that happens every time to those who really love; the more they give, the more they possess." - Rainer Maria Rilke
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