“To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness.”
As you know, happiness often comes from having loving and supportive relationships with friends, family and colleagues—but what if you don’t feel loved and supported by the one person who’s right in front of you? If your feelings aren’t reciprocated and your self-love isn’t returned, it can be nearly impossible to feel happy or satisfied when everything else in your life seems to be going great. So how do you fall in love with yourself, anyway?
The Power of Self-Love
Self-love is not selfish, says clinical psychologist Dr. Kristin Neff, Ph.D., author of Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself. It actually increases both our sense of well-being and the likelihood that we will do nice things for others.
In other words, when you’re at peace with yourself–when you love who you are–you’ll naturally be more likely to treat others kindly, too.
The Benefits of Self-Love
Self-love isn’t just a warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you think about yourself. It’s a powerful tool that can help you change your life. When you learn to love yourself first, everything else falls into place. You stop looking for validation from other people, stop engaging in activities that make you feel bad about yourself, and start focusing on what makes you happy. It’s the secret sauce for happiness.
Check out these articles for more information on self-love
Steps to Take to Fall in Love with Yourself
- Focus on your qualities, not your flaws.
- Spend time alone.
- Set a goal that you want to achieve, but don’t worry if you don’t make it.
- Take care of yourself physically by eating healthy and exercising regularly.
- Don’t compare yourself to others or measure success by what others have accomplished.
- Be grateful for everything you have and all the things you do for other people without expecting anything in return–even when it’s difficult or it feels like there’s nothing left to give; the act of giving makes us more happy than receiving does, which is one of the reasons why volunteering is so fulfilling!
Why Self-Love Is Important
Self-love is the foundation of happiness. You can’t be happy if you don’t love yourself. You can’t be happy if you feel like you’re not good enough, or that there’s something wrong with you. You have to learn how to love yourself before you can find true happiness. There are many ways to do this, but one important way is to start by being kinder towards yourself.
