What does "Love Yourself" look like? A lot of people use that phrase, but what does it mean? When you grow up

Question

damaged by being raised by parents who did not show self love or love for their children, then how do you even know what self love is, especially when you do not march to societies norms, thus are continually misunderstood and rejected. So, what do you mean when you say, "love yourself" How does it manifest? I am not talking about superficial stuff like looks, but about ways of functioning in life/in the world. There are so much unaccepting and judgmental stressors out there.

Answer 1

Another way to think of it is......integrity. Deciding what you stand for and sticking to it no matter what anyone else thinks. To walk away from any situation knowing you did the right thing. Even if nobody is there to support you or to thank you. Deep in all of our hearts (unless a person is actually insane) is a place that knows, inately, right from wrong. It is only human to make mistakes based on what others might think of us, etc., but to strive to do right and knowing you are going thru life doing the best that you can leads to self love. Knowing you are a good person and not needing someone to tell you that.

Answer 2

Loving yourself is when you can find pleasure even when you are by yourself, without needing a special person. I love myself...very often in fact. Glad to help!!

Nevermind, i couldn't resist. Self love is being confident in your own ability to live and contribute to society. If you can reflect on the positivity you can bring to can bring others through selfless acts, i think you'll find that self love you seek. Self love has nothing to do with external, judgmental stressors. It's all about your abillity to reflect on yourself and be either satisfied or disappointed on how you conduct yourself on a day to day basis.

Answer 3

Loving yourself is not a selfish or self-centered concept. It is knowing that you have infinite value as a human being and that you belong here on earth. It means drawing boundaries for what isn't healthy for you whether it's relationships, diet, job etc. It means being at peace with who you are and knowing that you yourself aren't stupid, ugly or what not but rather, it is the choice of actions or behaviors taken that may make you feel that way. It also means that no matter what, you know that you are important inside and can move on. It means ultimately that you like and respect yourself and can therefore let others love you for who you are.

Answer 4

When people say to love yourself they often mean love yourself first. One cannot be helpful to anyone unless they can take care of their own wounds first. When the pain has subsided and we can let go of things then we become free to move forward in life with acceptance and trust, knowing only fate, and faith and believing, and hoping. You cant change another person, they can always betray you, but accept things for what it is at the present moment. Dont look forward, or backward but live present in the present moment mindfully.

Answer 5

The key to loving yourself is to make more and more of yourself conscious to yourself, and accepting those things, until you can actually be yourself.

Put differently, loving yourself means learning about who you are. Watch your reactions, your thoughts, your tendencies, your preferences, become familiar with your own psychology so to speak. Why do you think and feel the ways you do. Observe yourself so as to make more and more of yourself something you are consciously aware of. Observe what it is in yourself that causes you to not be able to love yourself.

Do not try to change what you observe. Just learn about yourself, there is no need to try to manipulate yourself into being something other than what you are. If you are unable to accept certain things about yourself, learn to observe what it is in you that causes you to not be able to accept these things.

This process of making yourself conscious to yourself will eventually deepen your understanding of what life is about, and what love is about, and eventually, if you are lucky, you will discover who you really are. And, the more you can accept in yourself, the more you can accept in others, and thus your love expands.

Ultimately, to love yourself means to be yourself, which means ego transcendence (enlightenment) and is quite a high spiritual reality. Once one can be themselves, then the love is complete. But until then, the process of loving yourself is one of making more and more of yourself conscious to your own awareness.

Good luck!