Fall in love with yourself

“Love yourself. Forgive yourself. Be true to yourself. How you treat yourself sets the standard for how others will treat you.”
Steve Maraboli,

You are very important to you. No matter who you are, no matter where you have been, what you have done, no matter who or what you are, you should love yourself. Loving yourself entails loving who you are, accepting who you are and allowing your self to grow into a better version of yourself, not someone else. We all have our flaws and weaknesses, we all make mistakes, that is what makes us human, we should learn to forgive, respest and honor ourselves. In each of us, there is a bad habit, a bad character, that doesn’t mean that we don’t deserve love or we shouldn’t love ourselves, instead it means we should work on our weaknesses and capitalize on our strengths.

You can effectively love somebody without first loving your self. Your partner may be the best or the most beautiful woman/ handsome man in the world but if you don’t love yourself you will either feel he or she is inferior as you presume you are or you are not worthy of his/her love, both of these feelings are dangerous to your self esteem. Loving yourself can do tremendous things in both your life and that of your relationship. It builds your self esteem, your self worth, your view to life. When you start loving yourself, the negative things that destroy your personality will fade away. You begin to love taking care of you, to know that you have needs and expectations from people which should be fulfilled, yet you don’t depend on them to live. There is so much to gain from loving you, if you want to learn to love yourself, here are tips to guide you on that untraveled path.

1. Self awareness

The best way to know and love yourself is knowing who you are. Know all parts of you, what makes you happy and what makes you sad, what excites you and what makes you think. Study your weakness and strengths and in all these appreciate who you are. Have it in consciousness that you are a great person, a beautiful person that deserves all the love and care from himself or herself. Then deal with issues, issues that torment your self esteem, issues like insecurities, pride, fear amidst others, work on overcoming them and become a better person through overcoming them.

2 Think and act Positive

Begin to think and act positive towards yourself. When you wake up in the morning, praise God and then pray for yourself. Say things like “I am wonderful” or “I am intelligent ” always speak positively to yourself every day and every minute, it builds your self love and you love you more.

3. Take care of your health

Take care of yourself, eat right, exercise and if it’s possible sexcise. An healthy body will give a healthy mind. When you eat well and dress well, your lover will see the beauty in you and begin to respect you. Practice good hygiene always and do not relent to treat yourself once you fall sick. Take care of your self doesn’t only show a high level of maturity but also it promotes self love. Take yourself out, spend on you, it’s not only dates and romantic evenings that you spend, spoil yourself, it is very necessary.

4. Keep your eyes up

Your posture and stance determines how people view you and how you view your self. Keep your head up, maintain eye contact, don’t slouch, make sure you don’t let people disrespect you. Talk confidently, and be confident about yourself. A good posture and eye contact enhances better communication and it will pave a way for an equal amount of attention and needs from your partner. Pride destroys but self respect elevates you. If you show that you respect yourself and do not let yourself be disrespected, your partner will be able to rely on you to be disciplined and will respect you and trust you even more.

5. Help Others
The funny thing is when you help others you feel better about yourself. Helping others, serving others allows you to help yourself. According to research, the givers derive more pleasure and satisfaction than the receivers. You can help by joining a society dedicated to helping mankind, take care of old people and do lot to help people.

6. Compliment yourself

Though when we work on a project or art piece, we desire them to be complimented, you should learn to compliment yourself. Be confident in your abilities and skills. Remember the things you have achieved in the past, and let satisfaction from them sink in and be proud of who you are and your abilities. Do not go fishing for compliments instead take pride in all that you do.

A relationship is not only made of two people who love each other but also two people who love theirselves, who are comfortable in their own skin. Learn to love yourself, to enjoy your own company, your lover is not there to make you feel loved but instead to love who you are. Be in love with yourself, that is the only way you can appreciate the love your partner has for you. This has been Relationships Corner with Eddie Schwaggs