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A lot of times when we talk about self-love, if we’re not careful, we find ourselves lost in an expanse of abstract phrases that give us very little sense of what we’re talking about, and how we might apply it to our lives realistically. A lot of us already have an idea of what self-love feels and looks like to us in tangible terms, and that’s great! To support many others who do not have a practical concept of self-love, and to help keep us all on the same page for the rest of this post, let’s use the following definition self-love today:
Self-Love is defined in Merriam Webster’s Dictionary as “an appreciation of one’s own worth or virtue” and a “proper regard for and attention to one’s own happiness or well-being.” Oxford’s Lexico even goes as far as to mention self-love is “chiefly considered as a desirable rather than narcissistic characteristic.”
But why is it so important to love ourselves? I mean, even after understanding the practice, what is the utility of self-love? There are many scientifically proven benefits of practicing self-love. And there are countless scenarios we can look at that illustrate the utility of self-love, but for today I’d like to illustrate using a few straightforward concepts and terms.
Fear, unlike hate, is the opposite of love.
