The Importance of Self-Love

I hope you don't mind if I speak a little frankly this time.

I used to hate myself. I hated myself for having a particular flaw and for being too weak and stupid to overcome it. My hatred of myself was so strong that it almost destroyed me.

But I don't hate myself now. I forgave myself for being flawed, and instead, I began to love myself, warts and all. And since I began to love myself instead of hating myself, I've noticed that I've made measurable strides toward overcoming my flaw.

I now believe that my self-hatred had been self-reinforcing. Hating myself and fighting against myself only fostered destruction, not growth. My bruises couldn't heal because I kept beating myself up for having them. When I stopped beating myself up, I started beating my flaw instead.

There is a significant amount of power in self-forgiveness and self-love. Self-love can be encouraging and ennobling. Someone who loves themselves in a positive way can be their own role-model, their own cheerleader, and their own biggest fan. They can encourage themselves to live up to their best selves, building themselves up instead of tearing themselves down.

I've been tearing myself down for far too long. It wasn't healthy, it wasn't helping, and it wasn't what God wanted me to do. God has commanded us to forgive everyone and love everyone. That includes forgiving and loving ourselves. And now I think I know why. Self-forgiveness and self-love help us let go of that which is holding us back and instead reach toward what we can become.

I love myself. I love that which is good in me, and through positive reinforcement, I encourage that good to grow.

I strongly encourage everyone to try this. Find something you love about yourself and focus on loving yourself for having that trait. And if you can't think of something you love about yourself (I get that. I've been there.), ask someone who loves you why they love you and focus on that. And if you don't know anyone who loves you, ask God why He loves you. I promise that He does love you and that He has reasons for loving you beside just the fact that you're His kid. Everyone has traits that they can and should love about themselves and should love themselves for, and I think we'd all be happier if we did.