I believe in the importance of self-love.
I can’t say there was one life-changing incident that made me have this value. Loving myself took practice, realization, and failure. It took 20 years to acknowledge this principle, and I am still working on it. I’ve always been this shy girl, always in fear of judgment, rejection or not living up to expectations. I never really quite noticed it until the middle of 2017. I’ve always been beating myself down and constantly worrying. I was always stressing myself by thinking inside my head or holding back my inner thoughts and my values. It was suffocating, but most importantly, these habits were holding me back. I was missing opportunities and restricting my potentials by doubting myself. Honestly, I thought this was normal. Sure, we often all have these thoughts. However, not many of us have the ability to cast these negative thoughts away and love ourselves for who we are. I wasn’t good to myself; my mind was never kind to my body and soul. And through time, it caused me to deprive myself and neglect my body and mental health.
Self-love is so important, because it shapes me into what I want for myself right now and in the future. Accepting my flaws and loving myself for who I am has gained me confidence. Most importantly, I’ve learned to express my love towards the people around me. Allowing myself to love and prioritize myself has made me give love as well. I’ve realized that one cannot love another if one does not know how to love themselves. I always want to engage, experience and learn, but this can’t be done by doubting myself. I want to live my life with positive vibes only. In order to do this, I need to put myself first and love myself. Because I am the most important person in my life.