Love yourself even when you’re not at your best:

• When you’re not going hard at your goals enough…

• When you’re too tired to keep going

• When you’ve lost focus and discipline to put in the work

• When you messed up and everyone else in the world seems to hate you

• When… Whenever.

 Just love yourself… 🧡

Because love is a healer and a builder. You don’t build anything solid and lasting and beautiful with hate or indifference.

You can have a strong dislike for flaws because they hinder you from being your best self but the path to overcoming them requires that you love yourself well enough to go about it in a healthy way. Not out of an obsession for perfection but because you truly love yourself enough to want the best for yourself. 

To pick yourself up from that low point to a much higher, more fulfilling point, you need to love yourself because love creates the right mindset and environment you need to become your best self.

We tend to look on the outside for love so often and then whatever feedback we get determines how much love we feel or have for ourselves. 

When the world isn’t hyping you up and telling you how much they love you, you start thinking, “maybe I’m not that lovable”.

You begin to ignore activities that require you to spend time alone with yourself and develop habits that neglect your self care and well-being including working on your goals to achieve a more fulfilling life.

Truly…

We accept the love we think we deserve.

— Stephen Chbosky

When you don’t think you deserve that much love, you’ll sabotage every opportunity to receive love from others.

Love your neighbor as yourself but many don’t even love themselves that much. So then, how much love can their neighbor get?

If you aren’t good at loving yourself, you will have a difficult time loving anyone, since you’ll resent the time and energy you give another person that you aren’t even giving to yourself.

— Barbara De Angelis

People who love themselves enough, healthily, not in a  narcissistic way, are more prone to radiate love and warmth and are more open to giving love to others.

And the more love you give to others, the more love you’re likely to get back (although you can expect that not all love given will be requited because, remember, some people don’t even love themselves enough to give love to others).

Loving yourself is a daily requirement. It requires intentionality and self awareness. Life can be filled with so much activity— it’s so easy to forget or be mindful about how we treat ourselves and how we see ourselves.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the urgency of life and not take time to reflect and appreciate yourself.

So how do you infuse loving yourself deliberately into your daily life?

• Pay attention to your needs, don’t dismiss them or push them away

• Prioritize your well being

• Use gentle words on yourself: Don’t speak to yourself in a harsh or negative tone. 

• Train your mind to always look for the good in yourself instead of focusing on your flaws

• Pay attention to the energy you receive from the outside and how it’s affecting you internally. If it makes you bitter not better, it’s time to consider moving away from that space.

• Spend more time on activities that help you discover yourself: your strengths, weaknesses, talents and inspirations.

• Keep a journal to stay mindful and reflect on your experiences. Sort your thoughts to keep your mind clean and refreshed rather than carrying around baggage from external sources beyond your control.

• Self care of course, is a great way to express self love. You care for the things or people you love. So spend time taking care of you:

• • Eat healthy food you love
  • Use great body care products to keep your body radiant
  • Exercise and stay fit
  • Wear nice clothes
  • Read nice books and consume great content that improves your mind and soul
  • Go to places that energise you in a healthy way and inspires you to be your best self
  • Spend more time with people who make you happy.

Fall in love with taking care of yourself. Fall in love with the path of deep healing. Fall in love with becoming the best version of yourself but with patience, with compassion, and respect to your own journey.

— S. McNutt

 

Put great effort into acquiring valuable skills and being of service. This helps you develop a sense of purpose and meaning— when you know you’re not just all about yourself but are also helping to improve the world in the best way you can.

Loving yourself daily takes deliberateness of effort. Life wouldn’t always be rosy and filled with happy moments but by being deliberate and prioritizing what matters, you can infuse love into your life without waiting for others to hand it over to you…

You can be genuinely happy or content without relying on external validation or approval. You can truly become better and radiate more love and warmth to others.

Find the love you seek, by first finding the love within yourself. Learn to rest in that place within you that is your true home.

— Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

The world needs more love. But love begins in you…

🧡

— Olajumoke Ola