Honestly, loving yourself sounds like one of those easy things people throw around on social media, You know, those quotes that say, “Love yourself first and everything else will fall into place.” Yeah, it sounds nice, but nobody actually sits you down to explain how to do that in real life, They just expect you to know, I grew up hearing more about how to love others, be kind to people, respect elders, be a good friend… but loving myself? That wasn’t exactly on the list.
For me, I think self love has been a journey, I just did not wake up one morning and say that , “Yes, I am going to start loving myself today.” No, It came from different experiences, both good and bad, that made me realize if I do not take care of myself first, nobody else is going to do it for me, You see and when I say take care of myself, I am not just talking about looking good physically , even though I like that one too , I am talking about my mental space, my peace, and my happiness.
One of the first things I did to start loving myself more was learning how to cut off people who made me feel less than I am, see I used to keep people around just because I did not want to be alone, but later I realized they were only draining me ,now, if your energy is off, I am not afraid to keep my distance at all, see just know it is not beef, it is just me choosing myself.
Another thing I do is spend time on things that genuinely make me happy, I watch my anime and K-dramas without any guilt, I write my posts here on Hive because it gives me joy, and I listen to my music while doing chores because it makes the day feel lighter, I have learned to stop feeling bad for doing things “just for me” because that’s part of self-love.
Also, I try to speak more kindly to myself, This one is still a work in progress because I can be my own harshest critic. Sometimes I will make a mistake and my mind will start going, “You see yourself? You havr done it again.” But now I catch myself and switch it to, “Okay, you messed up, but it’s fine, We move.” Talking to yourself like you would to your best friend really makes a difference.
Taking care of my health is also a big part of it. I am not saying I am a gym rat, it is far from it ,but I try to eat well, drink water, and rest when I need to,see just know that sometimes self love is just saying, “I am not doing anything today, I am resting,” without feeling guilty about it.
I have also started celebrating my small wins too, Before, I used to only get excited for big achievements, but now even if I finish a task I have been procrastinating for a week, I hype myself up, it could be something as small as cooking a nice meal for myself or finally cleaning my wardrobe ,I tell myself, “Well done.” Those small moments add up and they make you feel good about yourself.
Loving yourself does not mean you become perfect or that life suddenly becomes easy, For me, it just means I am no longer putting myself last, It means I am treating myself like someone I actually care about, It is not selfish , in fact, the more I have learned to love myself, the more I have e been able to love other people genuinely.
At the end of the day, I have realized that self-love isn’t just about feeling good all the time, it is also about doing the hard things for yourself ,saying no when you need to, walking away from what does not serve you, and showing up for yourself even when it is not convenient, and trust me, when you start doing that, your whole life starts to feel lighter.
So yeah, nobody taught me how to love myself, but I’m teaching myself now, and honestly?.... I think I am doing a pretty good job.
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