The Formative Impact of Self Love

Many people view self love as an act of vanity, selfishness, and something that should cause immense guilt, however self-love serves as both our fuel and the cornerstone of who we are. This foundation is the base upon which everything else is built, and life feels unstable without it Additionally, because your views about yourself are based on how you feel about yourself, learning to love yourself is the one skill that will greatly improve each and every part of your life. Gandhi once wrote: ‘‘Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habit, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny’’. Learning to love yourself will not be a smooth journey, but it’s impacts and effects will be forever invaluable;

1- You will find it easier to accept good things that come into your life

As you grow into the love within you, you will begin to accept the good things that come into your life; you will no longer feel ill-deserving of your successes, and will not be greatly affected by forms of guilt such as impostor syndrome, and so will truly celebrate your efforts and their outcomes

2- You will begin to take responsibility where it is due. The basis of self-love is taking ownership for your actions, and clearly defining the way you want others to think of you. Many people adopt a victim mentality as a result of a refusal to acknowledge their own contribution to their circumstance. You start to see your experiences differently when you start to put self-love first Learning lessons is more important than trying to ignore them

3- You will have a better understanding of yourself. Self-love encourages you to attend to your own needs You'll learn to take care of yourself, which will help you grow into the person you want to be. You'll get a firmer understanding of who you really are and you'll relish the grace and freedom of being honest to yourself. Self-love enables you to connect with your authentic self

4 - You will set comfortable boundaries. Your ability to recognize what is and isn't good to you will grow as your capacity for self-love does Simply put, you will accept being treated badly less the more you love yourself You will slowly but surely set boundaries based on what you know benefits you, and not what others want you to.

5- You will find joy in yourself and the things around you

Self love gives you the power to stop looking for happiness outside of yourself (e.g. in friends, material items etc) , where you will become dependent on external factors for your own wellbeing. Instead, it prompts you to look to yourself, where you will always be with you, giving you the longest lasting happiness. There is nothing wrong with finding joy in external factors, however, when you’re finding joy in yourself, all of your other joy will be amplified since you’re in a place of positivity.