The Importance of Loving Yourself

Loving yourself has nothing to do with narcissism (in most cases!) It is important to love yourself, because the alternative is to be indifferent or to hate yourself, which clearly isn't beneficial to anyone. If you don't love yourself, what difference does it make what you eat, whether you exercise, how you dress or who you associate with? If you don't care about your well-being, you could end up drinking too much, taking drugs, sleeping around, eating junk food, and engaging in behaviour which could be damaging in the long run. If you don't love yourself, it's hard to project yourself to the rest of the world in the way you want to, which can have a bearing on your self-esteem and confidence levels.

Indeed, if you don't love yourself, this could be because you are suffering from low self-esteem. This can be caused by your interactions with others. If you've been bullied or undermined in some way, especially over a period of time, this can affect the way you see yourself. If someone continually tells you that you're ugly, fat and worthless, there is a chance you will eventually come to believe it, especially if you're a negative person to begin with. Instead of shaking off other people's nasty words, you can find yourself internalising them and engaging in activities which could only exacerbate the problem. For instance, it's not unusual to hear of overweight individuals turning to food for comfort, which can lead to further weight gain.

Ultimately, you only have one body and one mind. It's up to you to look after yourself and you can only do that if you actually care about your own health and well-being. If you have low self-esteem you may convince yourself that you're not worth the effort, but even if you have others in your life who love you, it is impossible to be around people all the time. You can't escape your own mind, though, and so you have to deal with the thoughts and feelings you have every minute of the day. Thus, it's better to love rather than loathe yourself.

Plus, if you want to build relationships with other people, whether platonic or romantic, it definitely helps to love yourself. It's better than looking for affirmation from other people, especially if it is not forthcoming. If you can't love yourself it will be hard for you to accept that anyone else can love you anyway. Loving yourself won't make your life perfect, but it will make it easier to enjoy the highs and deal with the lows that life brings.