20 Quotes To Remind You Of The Importance Of Self-Love
- David Stidston
What is the difference between self-love and vanity? Well, self-love is defined as having "regard for one's own well-being and happiness", whilst vanity is defined as having "excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements". When we talk about loving ourselves, many people often get caught up in the belief they are being vain, if they choose to love themselves, which often can lead to unwanted attention and criticism. As you can see from the definitions above though, there is a distinct difference between self-love and vanity. There are two words in the above definitions that I want to highlight, them being "excessive" and "regard". Vanity is indeed taking the love for oneself to excessive and unnecessary levels, as it's placing ourselves on a pedestal basically, installing a belief within ourselves that we are above and better than others, without showing any humility in the process. We may be blessed with good looks, or we may be blessed with skills and talent that earns us success and recognition in a respective field, but we should never be so infatuated and obsessed with ourselves to the extent we believe we are above others. Whether you believe it or not, vanity actually leads us to becoming restricted in our experience of life. We are so focused on being so awesome, attractive, and talented, that we target being the centre of attention, but all the while, it ends up creating solitude and emptiness instead. Being so self-absorbed, we often start to disconnect from others, which can have a detrimental affect on our relationships. Vanity is not beneficial to us, and is not what loving ourselves is all about.
The second word I mentioned is regard, and when we break it down to what regard means, it of course revolves around paying attention to something, or considering something in a specific way. The definition of self-love then goes on to refer to our happiness and well-being, so if we therefore link regard to our happiness and well-being, self love is completely about paying attention to our happiness and well-being. In no way is that classed as vanity. Self-love is purely looking out for ourselves, and prioritizing our own happiness and well-being in life. In all fairness, this is something most people do not do, evident by the decisions they make, and they actions they take, in life. It makes it fact that most people do not value their own happiness and well-being, because they continue living a life that is designed for them, and not by them. It's no wonder that so many people suffer from mental health issues nowadays, such as depression, because too many of us fail to prioritize our own happiness, because we feel obliged to follow what others do, because we are manipulated and influenced to live a certain way, and because we trek the path that society trudges along on. We see people working jobs they dislike, they remain in unhealthy relationships, they live an unfulfilling lifestyle, they place themselves in negative environments and surround themselves with negative minded people, they settle for mediocrity, they continue living in financial hardship, and many more decisions and actions that aren't in their own best interest, for the sake of their happiness and well-being. The worst part is that so many of us lead ourselves into circumstances we feel trapped in, through the various decisions and non-decisions we continue to make, and in order to escape these circumstances, we then need to make some awkward, uncomfortable, and even risky, decisions. People don't want to do that, because they are scared of change, they are scared of financial loss, they are scared of failing, and they are scared of how others will perceive them, but by not doing so, we are imprisoning ourselves into a life of unhappiness and misery. That's not self-love! We can deny it all we want, but each day we have opportunities in front of us, and we have choices to make, and it's these opportunities and choices that can lead us toward of future of happiness, success, prosperity, and fulfillment, but we turn a blind eye to them. We do not love ourselves enough to value our own happiness and well-being, how does that make sense? What sort of life are we sentencing ourselves to? Self-love is about believing in ourselves and our abilities, about recognizing the potential we have within us, about valuing ourselves as a person, about appreciating who we are as a person, and above all, it's about finding happiness within ourselves. It's not vanity to love ourselves in such a way, nor is it any way selfish that we should go about prioritizing our own happiness and well-being in life. Self-love is showing that we truly value the life we are given, and we are prepared to design a life that brings us happiness, good health, success, and fulfillment, irrespective of what others may say, or how they may judge and criticize us. Love yourself to the point where all your decisions and actions are based on working towards happiness and success. Here are 20 quotes to remind you of the importance of self-love, and how you should value yourself enough to be working towards that happiness and well-being you desire!
1.- “Beauty is when you can appreciate yourself. When you love yourself, that’s when you’re most beautiful.”
- Zoe Kravitz
2.- “To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness.”
- Robert Morley
3.- “Respect, Love, and Value yourself. Always remember to be good to yourself by taking care of yourself. Make yourself a priority and know that it’s okay. Don’t feel guilty for loving yourself, first! You’re just as important as anybody else.”
- Stephanie Lahart
4.- "Love who you are, embrace who you are. Love yourself. When you love yourself, people can kind of pick up on that: they can see confidence, they can see self-esteem, and naturally, people gravitate towards you."
- Lilly Singh
5.- “A healthy self-love means we have no compulsion to justify to ourselves or others why we take vacations, why we sleep late, why we buy new shoes, why we spoil ourselves from time to time. We feel comfortable doing things which add quality and beauty to life.”
- Andrew Matthews
6.- "One way to feel good about yourself is to love yourself... to take care of yourself."
- Goldie Hawn
7.- "Life is really not easy, we all have our personal battles, but it is important that you really treasure yourself, love yourself and have a sense of self-worth."
- Heart Evangelista
8.- "Society sets us up to be everything but ourselves, but I want to take a moment and say to people, love yourself. Find your purpose. You are unique, and that makes you great. I pursued my dreams. You can do it, too."
- Karen Civil
9.- “To love yourself right now, just as you are, is to give yourself heaven. Don’t wait until you die. If you wait, you die now. If you love, you live now.”
- Alan Cohen
10.- "Love yourself for who you are, and trust me, if you are happy from within, you are the most beautiful person, and your smile is your best asset."
- Ileana D'Cruz
11.- “Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward. If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down.”
- Roy T. Bennett
12.- "Love yourself no matter who you are or where you come from."
- Diane Guerrero
13.- “Loving yourself isn’t vanity. It’s sanity.”
- Andre Gide
14.- ”To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.”
- Oscar Wilde
15.- “Find the love you seek, by first finding the love within yourself. Learn to rest in that place within you that is your true home.”
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
16.- "If you can learn to love yourself and all the flaws, you can love other people so much better. And that makes you so happy."
- Kristin Chenoweth
17.- “Loving ourselves works miracles in our lives.”
- L. Hay
18.- "Don't ever criticize yourself. Don't go around all day long thinking, 'I'm unattractive, I'm slow, I'm not as smart as my brother.' God wasn't having a bad day when he made you... If you don't love yourself in the right way, you can't love your neighbor. You can't be as good as you are supposed to be."
- Joel Osteen
19.- “No other love no matter how genuine it is, can fulfill one’s heart better than unconditional self-love.”
- Edmond Mbiaka
20.- Love yourself. It is important to stay positive because beauty comes from the inside out.
- Jenn Proske
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About the Creator
David Stidston
My name is David Stidston, and I am a single father to my 8-year-old daughter Mia. We live in the beautiful city of Hobart in Tasmania, Australia. I am currently self-employed, working as a freelancer and casually in market research.
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