Self-Love Is The Enemy Of Insecurities

Free AI web copilot to create summaries, insights and extended knowledge, download it at here

2013

Abstract

ps://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*MeKxEl-bqqD9pfP0pUvhgQ.png"><figcaption>Photo by <a href="https://www.pexels.com/@simplyogo?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels">Ogo</a> from <a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/grayscale-photography-of-woman-1764594/?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels">Pexels</a></figcaption></figure><p id="91b2">Though I am not yet fully whole, I have identified that my brokenness derived from feelings of neglect and not always feeling that I was loved as a child. Therefore, I maneuvered through my life chasing the idea of love from external forces, not fully understanding that I needed to first love myself.</p><p id="b7ca">As a result, my self-identity and self-esteem were ruined, and I suffered through a lot of pain and despair. Fortunately, this awareness triggered some deep self-reflection, and I was able to find my way on the path of healing through forgiveness. In addition, I shifted the way I approached love, instead of chasing love from others, I decided to first give love to myself.</p><p id="9774"><b>In what ways is self-love a burden, though?</b></p><p id="cc44">I have seen this statement “<b>self-love is selfish</b>” floating around the internet and I am baffled at why someone would think loving ourselves would be viewed as selfish. Then I thought about it, and I assume self-love could be perceived as self-centered and narcissistic. However, those flaws develop out of fear and ego and not out of love.</p><p id="bfa1"><b>Self-love is the enemy of our insecurities,</b> and it should never feel like a burden. But the road to self-love can become a tedious plight. Personally, I had to learn how to forgive those who caused me pain and let go of any resentment that I might have been holding on to. I wrote a piece stating that <a href="https://readmedium.com/forgiveness-path-to-love-a901fbf1333d">forgiveness is the pathway to love</a>, but it ain’t ea

Options

sy to forgive, but it is the way to liberation.</p><p id="204c"><b>And, more importantly, in what ways is it a liberation?</b></p><p id="1c66">I believe forgiveness is in fact the pathway to love and to our emotional freedom. Once I chose to let go of all the past hurt and discovered and adopted self-love, it triggered a plethora of new possibilities into my life. Everything around me illuminated and magically came alive because my light is now shining brightly from within, as the essence of love permeates through my soul.</p><p id="98c6">After years of self-loathing habits and constant self-criticism, it is liberating to stand in front of a mirror and express true love to myself. I choose to love me first and that is not selfish. One of my favorite things to say to myself in the mirror is “<b>I chose to love myself more today than I did yesterday, but less than I will tomorrow.</b>”</p><p id="3fe7">Choose to love yourself and the world will love you back.</p><p id="2895"><i>This was written in response to <a href="undefined">Diana C.</a>’s Weekend Prompt:</i></p><div id="ed06" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/weekend-prompt-before-self-love-becomes-a-liberation-it-is-first-a-burden-92384bedc43d"> <div> <div> <h2>Weekend Prompt: “Before Self-Love Becomes a Liberation, It is First a Burden”</h2> <div><h3>29–30 of May</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*9413afucwf7NkG23dxb_tg.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="b819"><b><i>Thank you all for reading. And thank you <a href="undefined">Diana C.</a> for creating the space so that we all can revisit stages in our lives, tell our stories, grow, and heal. KTHT has been a rollercoaster, one that I don’t mind riding.</i></b></p></article></body>

Choose to Love Yourself

Weekend Prompt: “Before Self-Love Becomes a Liberation, It is First a Burden”

Love is pure and it transcends my understanding. I believe that love is multifaceted, and it should be expressed unconditionally having no limits. If you are rooted in love, then everything around you could blossom and grow effortlessly. However, it is unfortunate that we live in a sinister world where that might be unachievable. Either way, love is pure and beautiful, and it is the essence of our being.

Do you love yourself? If so, what does that mean to you? I believe love is the purest emotion of them all, but how does that translate to self-love? Love must begin with us because if we don’t love ourselves, how can we expect anybody else to love us?

How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you.” — Rupi Kaur

Unfortunately, I didn’t always love myself. I went through most of my adult life trying to find someone to complete me. Obviously, I was broken as my view of myself was that I was incomplete and not whole. My self-loathing habits hindered my ability to succeed in my relationships. Therefore, many of them failed because I looked to them to fill the voids that were present in my life.

Photo by Ogo from Pexels

Though I am not yet fully whole, I have identified that my brokenness derived from feelings of neglect and not always feeling that I was loved as a child. Therefore, I maneuvered through my life chasing the idea of love from external forces, not fully understanding that I needed to first love myself.

As a result, my self-identity and self-esteem were ruined, and I suffered through a lot of pain and despair. Fortunately, this awareness triggered some deep self-reflection, and I was able to find my way on the path of healing through forgiveness. In addition, I shifted the way I approached love, instead of chasing love from others, I decided to first give love to myself.

In what ways is self-love a burden, though?

I have seen this statement “self-love is selfish” floating around the internet and I am baffled at why someone would think loving ourselves would be viewed as selfish. Then I thought about it, and I assume self-love could be perceived as self-centered and narcissistic. However, those flaws develop out of fear and ego and not out of love.

Self-love is the enemy of our insecurities, and it should never feel like a burden. But the road to self-love can become a tedious plight. Personally, I had to learn how to forgive those who caused me pain and let go of any resentment that I might have been holding on to. I wrote a piece stating that forgiveness is the pathway to love, but it ain’t easy to forgive, but it is the way to liberation.

And, more importantly, in what ways is it a liberation?

I believe forgiveness is in fact the pathway to love and to our emotional freedom. Once I chose to let go of all the past hurt and discovered and adopted self-love, it triggered a plethora of new possibilities into my life. Everything around me illuminated and magically came alive because my light is now shining brightly from within, as the essence of love permeates through my soul.

After years of self-loathing habits and constant self-criticism, it is liberating to stand in front of a mirror and express true love to myself. I choose to love me first and that is not selfish. One of my favorite things to say to myself in the mirror is “I chose to love myself more today than I did yesterday, but less than I will tomorrow.”

Choose to love yourself and the world will love you back.

This was written in response to Diana C.’s Weekend Prompt:

Thank you all for reading. And thank you Diana C. for creating the space so that we all can revisit stages in our lives, tell our stories, grow, and heal. KTHT has been a rollercoaster, one that I don’t mind riding.