What Self Love is.

 I got new slippers. I noticed that I clean it very often. My slippers are so pretty I don't let anyone mess with them. Yes, I clean all my footwear, but I give special attention to these navy blue slippers because I love them. 

I give similar care to my phone, my black backpack which I carry almost always. As I watch myself care so much for these things I paid for, and can easily replace, I ask myself why I don't care for myself like I care for my stuff. Funny right? I really can get a prettier navy blue slippers, and another black backpack I'd love, but I'd never get another me, and I love these things more than I love me? 

Oh I know you'd tell me I love me a lot, and that's why I get myself pretty stuff, but if I love me, why then have I let my thoughts about myself be an unhealthy place for me? Why do I let myself think that I am not enough? Or that I can never get to the top? Why do I constantly put myself down? Why do I wish I had someone else's face or body? Why do I think I need to look a certain way to fit in? Tell me, why do I stay in a relationship that constantly breaks me? 

Well, many of you that read this are just like me. We smile and act like we have it all figured out, but deep down, we know we should love ourselves more. A reason today, we'd be discussing self-love. 

Self Love is self-care. It is caring about one's well-being. Self Love is wanting yourself to be happy. It is choosing one's self. Now self Love is very different from narcism(excessive love for one's self), a reason you should never feel guilty for loving yourself. It is a very commendable quality to be empathetic, but not praiseworthy to not show love and respect to yourself. You should never feel guilty for choosing yourself. You ask: how can I love myself? How can I show care to myself? Read further to find out. 

We can show Self Love by:

1. Taking Care of our body: This is an important aspect of Self Love. To take care of our body, we must eat healthily, sleep well, exercise often, take medication when necessary, bathe often, the list goes on... we must take care of our hair, nails, skin, etc. 

2. Watching our thoughts:  If you heard before now that our thoughts shape our lives and you refused to believe that, then you should now. Because our thoughts do shape our lives. We spend a large part of our lives in our heads. We must make our head a beautiful place to live in. If you keep telling yourself you're not enough, you really would never be enough. This brings us to the next point:

3. Watch Your Words: Sounds familiar? Well, it's cause you have to watch the words you say. No, today we're not talking about others we're talking about YOU. Watch the words you say to yourself. Say kind and positive words to yourself because you deserve the love you give out freely to others. You deserve to be loved by YOU. 

4. Rest When You're Tired: Dear, you're not indefatigable. Whoever said you're incapable of becoming tired lied to you. Yes, you're human and that's why you get tired sometimes, that's why you just want out. I'd say to you, if you ever get tired, rest. Yes b, tell yourself: " I'm gonna rest a while because I love me." Rest dear. You no be machine. Truth is, getting enough rest could boost your productivity. You have to learn to listen to your body. 

5. Pray: Now you're wondering how prayer got into the talk. Dear, you're not Almighty. That post already belongs to God. Many things in life would be beyond your control. You'd have to ask God for help if you don't want to ruin yourself, if you don't want to be consumed by grief and confusion. Ask God to help you. To grant you ease. It's a form of self-care baby. 

6. Believe in Yourself: So many times, we desperately want family and friends to believe in us. We want them to believe that we can. And we use their belief in us as a form of motivation. Now, this isn't wrong. But what is wrong is when we don't believe in ourselves. Believe in yourself, dear. Believe that you can, and you will. 

7. Spend Some Time with Yourself: Spending time with yourself doesn't mean that you're alone, and don't have people who want to be with you. It's a form of self-care. Once in a while, we need to spend time with ourselves to meditate. You have to learn to enjoy your own company. That's one of the ways you'll grow. 

8. Do What You Love: This is an interesting trick to being happy. Find out what you love, and do it. Baby, you matter too. 

I'd let my pen rest here. Tell me in the comments section what Self Love is to you. Tell me how you show yourself, love, how you spoil yourself, and when you learnt that loving yourself is important too. I'm eager to read from you. If you found this helpful, please share it with your friends, family and enemies. Thanks for reading