We have all heard how important self-love is to achieve great happiness. It’s said that self-love can help decrease stress, mental illness, and help individuals truly live their best lives. Self-love can be defined as a deliberate act that a person can make to provide the care and compassion one needs for themselves. What people imagine self-care to be is usually fueled by slogans such as “treat yourself,” and although most people love a day at the spa, the mall, or even a lavish getaway, self-love means so much more than that.
What is Self-Love?
Taking it to a much deeper level, self-love should include having higher regard for our well-being. This means trusting and loving ourselves, no matter what flaws we feel we have. Self-love means setting boundaries for ourselves to not allow others to hurt or mistreat us. These boundaries are also set for ourselves. Having healthy boundaries helps us remember our self-worth. Allowing a toxic relationship into our lives, whether it be romantically or platonic, is not healthy for our mental well-being. And when our mental well-being is out of whack, we can lose sight of that healthy connection we need with ourselves. When we have a healthy, deeper connection with ourselves, it can help us to connect with others. Self-love can also include taking a timeout to reset ourselves and speaking kindly to ourselves.
Self-love doesn’t come easy for everyone. We can read all the articles and inspirational quotes we want, all suggesting what we should and shouldn’t do, but it isn’t always that easy. If you are someone who already struggles with self-love the most important thing for you to do is to be patient. Sometimes we can’t do it on our own. Maybe you’re an adult with unresolved childhood trauma or a teen who just feels overwhelmed with life. At times, we need to start the healing process which could involve professional care such as psychotherapy. The great thing is though, it’s never too late to start loving yourself and knowing how awesome you are. You deserve genuine happiness, and you are worthy of all the love out there.
It can be challenging to understand why self-love is so important. What’s more challenging though, is living a life where you don’t understand how worthy you truly are. Many studies have shown that self-love and compassion are key elements for mental health and well-being. Self-love has helped individuals with their depression, and anxiety as well as many other challenges that include addiction.
Stop Striving For Perfection
We are human beings, and we’re going to fail and make mistakes. Eliminate the idea of being perfect. No one is perfect. For most people online, it took them 100 takes to get that perfect picture, and chances are, they’re using a filter. Life was not meant to be perfect, it was meant to be lived and when we truly live, we’re experiencing hiccups that help us learn and to grow. “Comparison is a thief of joy.” How many times have you been scrolling through social media to find people bragging about how perfect their life is? Or how perfect you envision their life to be. It’s just a picture, and it could be a beautiful picture, but we don’t know the whole story. That family could have gone through months, or years of therapy to reach that place in life. That woman showing off her perfect body may have suffered through an eating disorder and is finally on the road to recovery. The fact is we don’t know everyone’s story, but chances are it’s not been perfect. Everyone starts somewhere and today could be the day where you start.
Don’t Invalidate Your Triumphs or Your Goals
There is not a one-size-fits-all when it comes to triumphs or goals. We don’t have to have the best, most high-paying job to be deemed successful. Our goals do not have to match others. If it isn’t attainable for you at this time, that’s okay. It’s not meant to be your goal right now. Setting unattainable goals for ourselves is only setting us up for failure, and failure isn’t the greatest feeling. Shape that goal. If losing 100lbs is your goal, start small. Set your first goal to 5lbs, then 10lbs, 12lbs, 15lbs … your journey is yours and each triumph should be celebrated! When we can be grateful for everything that we have and are achieving, we are showing ourselves that we are enough. When we realize our self-worth, we are less likely to compare ourselves to others which can enhance our happiness.
Benefits of Self-Love
- Increased self-confidence, and self-worth
- Decrease in negative emotions, and illnesses
- Enhances relationships
- Builds trust, and compassion
- Increase self-respect
- Stronger resilience
- Increased motivation
- Overall better physical and mental well-being
Self-love doesn’t always come easy for everyone, but the importance of it for every single person is crucial. We live in a world where many people strive for perfection or who compare themselves to the lives they see on their television screens. Comparison is a thief of joy and we need to learn how to let it go—for the greater good, including how we, too, think of love. Self-love isn’t just treating yourself to a bubble bath, massage, or that expensive purse. It’s telling yourself and believing that you are worthy. It’s taking the time to rest and to create healthy boundaries. Self-love may be challenging, but the obstacles you’ll encounter to finding self-love will be completely worth it. If you need assistance finding the healthiest version of yourself, let Achieve Concierge help today. We have a team that can help children and adults. Call us today at (619) 393-5871.