Self-love is not just about taking care of yourself, accepting your flaws, or liking what you see in the mirror. It’s more than bubble baths, chanting daily affirmations, and knowing your worth.
The harsh truth is, practicing self-love also involves self-reflection and self-growth. You have to acknowledge your weaknesses and work on them. You have to stop repeating the same mistakes if you want to be happy. It’s impossible to get different results if you refuse to break out of recurring patterns that don’t serve you.
Here’s why self-love is more than just appreciating yourself:
1) You need to identify your mistakes
You love yourself but somehow always end up with a broken heart. You’ve accepted your flaws but you still tend to push people away. You’re hardworking but can’t seem to get that promotion you know you deserve.
It is important to love yourself so much that you know how to move on from anything that doesn’t deserve you. You may be a good person, but you need to stop letting people take advantage of you.
If you want others to appreciate you, look deep within yourself and identify your own flaws. Are you too insecure? Do you have certain habits that annoy people? Do you let your emotions get the best of you?
2) You need to be accountable
It doesn’t matter if people hurt you. How you react or respond to a situation is far more important. You need to keep your integrity intact and learn how to accept disappointments with grace. There’s no point in retaliating or making others suffer. You will not learn anything from it.
Were you too pushy? Could you have been a little less intense? Did you go too far with your negativity? Were you too afraid to speak up? Be honest with yourself and own up to your mistakes.
3) You need to fix it
Pause. Take some time to work on yourself. Maybe you need to be more confident. Maybe you need to communicate more effectively. Maybe you need to focus on your own life. Whatever it is, you need to fix yourself first.
Blaming others will not help. Self-pity will not get you anywhere. Revenge will not change what happened. Just try your best to do better next time. Avoid repeating the same mistakes that never worked for you. If you want to change the world, start with yourself first.
