It is only when you truly allow yourself to follow your heart without fearing about what other people will think that will you know that you truly love yourself and, on the journey, learn to follow your heart. You don’t judge yourself, instead you learn from any mistakes you might make and become a better person in the process. This is called true self-love. Forgiveness as a form of self-love Have you ever let someone shout at you because you would rather have some peace and you don’t want to respond to the unfair attitude?
If you are angry inside but choose not to respond in order to keep the peace, then you are holding toxic emotions inside of you which will damage your energy, your health and eventually your relationships. Learn to forgive other people since forgiveness is not for them but it is for you to be able to be kind to yourself. In the absence of forgiveness, suppressed emotions of anger and frustration will burn you first and then someone else (if at all).
As much as it’s important for you to forgive others, it is also crucial for you to be able to forgive yourself.
Acceptance
What should we do when we don’t meet our own expectations and can’t achieve what we think we deserve to achieve? We accept it. Now, when I say we should accept our mistakes, it does not mean that we should not set high standards for ourselves on our road to self-improvement. It means that we accept that we are on the journey of growth and that we can do better next time.
I give this example to many of my clients who find it difficult to understand the concept of acceptance as a form of self-love. I say that if in the race between the turtle and the rabbit, the turtle kept being harsh on himself for being such a slow walker, he would probably have given up mentally and would have never won the race. Acceptance also eliminates the need of approval. How many times do we find ourselves looking for approval from others?
This almost always leads to disappointment and is a perfect recipe for toxic relationships. Self-love and self-discipline I used to struggle with self-discipline as I always looked at discipline as a form of restriction or punishment. But quite soon in my journey of personal growth I realized that self-discipline is a form of self-love, because if I care enough about myself then I will make sure I do the right thing for myself.
Improve yourself
For example, if I know that eating sweets is going to affect my body in a bad way, then if I love myself enough, how can I let myself abuse myself? When you start setting boundaries for yourself for your own personal growth and follow them, you are showing the purest form of self-love, and self-love is what will enable you to stay in the game for a long time without burning out and giving up.
