Why is self-love so important?

Everyone is talking about self-care or self-love, but it can mean something different for each person because we all have many ways to take care of ourselves.

What does it really mean? Self-love is not just about what you put in your body or how you exercise or even what you have, it’s about how you treat yourself, inside and out. It’s about enjoying your body, to loving all the flaws and all the quirkiness that comes along with you. It means attending to your own needs rather than sacrificing your well-being to please others. Self-love entails refusing to accept anything less than what you deserve.

In today's stressed-out world, self-care is essential. Self-love is frequently viewed as a luxury or a reward. Here are five reasons for its importance. 

1. Self-love can aid in stress reduction. When you practise self-love, you become more aware when your body needs a break. When you take a moment to breathe and care for your body, you will be better equipped to deal with stress in your life.
2. It helps you to be more emotionally resilient. It's easy to become despondent during these trying times of pandemics, economic woes, and general instability. The increase in mental health crises is tremendous. Self-love can help you overcome negative self-talk and put things into perspective. You can learn to move on from past mistakes and utilise your "failure" as a springboard for future success.
3. Your productivity is on the rise. You become motivated and inspired to put your plans into action. Your daily performance will live up to your lofty expectations of your ability to accomplish anything.
4. By learning to love yourself, you will achieve better health and make positive changes in your life. When you hold yourself in high esteem, you're more likely to choose things that nurture your well-being and serve you well. These things may be in the form of eating healthy, exercising and meditating
5. Accepting and liking yourself is linked to a higher level of life satisfaction and, as a result, happiness. It's difficult to be happy about anything when you're always dissecting your weaknesses and critiquing your decisions. Self-love urges you to treat yourself as if you were a close friend. You can admit that you're not perfect, but that you're worthy of acceptance and support.

With the overwhelming influence of social media, it's all too easy to judge and compare ourselves to others, and it's all too easy to do so subconsciously. However, we shouldn't use this as a yardstick for our own personal achievement.

Self-love is all about putting yourself first and taking care of your mind, body, and spirit. We recognize that loving all of you isn't as simple as getting up and doing so every day; it takes time and practice.

You want your body to feel its high vitality, by nourishing it and giving it love back. Its so important to be your true authentic self and being content with that person. You want to be that person who can walk through a room and uplifts others. Someone who can express themselves freely, without guilt and who strives to grow.

So, what makes you come alive? Are you happy with who you are and, if not, what would it take to love yourself? How would it feel like to love yourself?