Self-Love Meaning

Why is self-love important? Let’s break down: self-love meaning.

Do you know what self-love means?

I’m here today to answer your questions and offer a little guidance along the way. You see, I’ve spent most of my three-plus decades on this planet, struggling to love myself.

I’ve had times in my life where the self-hate was heavy and others where I’ve learned to see myself for who I truly am. But as we all know, life is cyclical and full of ups and downs, and so will be your path to radical self-love.

Your self-love journey is unique to you and you alone. It starts with wanting better for yourself and the belief that you deserve it.

I’m here to show you that it is possible to love yourself every day, even when you don’t believe you deserve it. Even when the world tells you you’re not enough.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s covered in this article:

Self-Love Definition
Why is self-love important?
Tough Love
How to Practice Self-Love

This article is dedicated to breaking down the meaning of self-love.

Self-Love Meaning

Self-Love Definition

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, self-love is:

love of self
an appreciation of one’s own worth or virtue

The keyword in this definition I like to focus on is worth. Sometimes ‘love’ can be a polarizing word when we say, self-love. I imagine many people equate self-love with being selfish, narcissistic, or egotistical.

There could be nothing further from the truth. Honestly, most people with those sorts of traits are the ones lacking self-love the most. That’s because self-love is actually all about your worth and how you perceive yourself.

Do you feel worthy of recognition, compassion, and love? If you find yourself questioning whether or not you are worthy of (insert the thing you want here), that means you have some self-love work to do.

Not to worry my friend. I’m here, writing this post and everything else on this blog, in order to help you find your value and your self-worth to ultimately, love yourself.

Why is Self-Love Important?

Self-love is important because the way we treat ourselves and view ourselves is a direct reflection of how we treat others.

I genuinely believe that if more people, women especially, took the time to know themselves, accept themselves as they are, and truly love and value themselves, the world would be a better place.

Personally, I operate from the best part of myself when I am coming from a place of self-love and self-worth. This means I am putting things like my mental health, physical health, and emotional well-being at the top of my ‘to-do’ list. Taking care of Sharae is non-negotiable.

When I find myself feeling easily agitated, overwhelmed, or frustrated with a situation or another person, most of the time, it’s because I’ve been ignoring myself in some way.

I’m usually over-extending myself out of fear that if I don’t show up to be helpful for this person or obligation, then I’ll be hated or looked down on in some way. So truthfully, I’m not doing it out of love or compassion, I’m doing it because of fear.

But, if you’ve read any of my other articles, you know that fear is irrelevant. In these moments, I have to remember that if I truly care about the person asking me for help, I need to help myself first. That way, I can bring the best parts of who I am to share with them and help them.

Taking the time to put yourself first in every instance, will automatically free you up to help and care for others. It will happen naturally, trust me.

Tough Love

First things first, and this might be hard to hear, no one is obligated to love you or take care of you, but yourself.

I’m sure you’re thinking but what about my parents, grandparents, spouse, children, etc? The truth of the matter is that we are all individual beings having our own unique experiences here on this planet.

None of us owe anything to each other.

Now, obviously, we are human and we are hard-wired for love and connection. And thank god for that! Love and connection are everything. It is the most beautiful part of life.

So, why do we hand over love and connection to others? If love is so amazing, why don’t we fill ourselves up with it first?

Short answer: we don’t know how.

Most of us are never taught what true unconditional love is, without some sort of strings attached. Without the obligation of family, religion, or intimacy. So, it’s our job as fully actualized adult human beings, to figure it out and show ourselves, radical, unconditional self-love.

How to Practice Self-Love

Now that you know what self-love means and why it’s so important, I want to help you kickstart your journey by giving you 5 ways you can start practicing self-love today.

1. Accept Yourself

Easier said than done, trust me. But you have to start where you are, right now.
Forgive yourself for abandoning yourself for all this time and move forward.
Fully commit to your relationship with Y-O-U.
Remember that you will never be exactly as you are, right now again.
Embrace every inch of who you are and learn to celebrate it.

2. Become a ‘no’ woman

Say ‘no’ more than you say ‘yes’.
You are only obligated to yourself. If you are not taking care of your own basic needs, you have no business going out and trying to help aka save anyone else.
Sit down and figure out why you keep overextending yourself to others and leaving yourself with nothing.
The answer may surprise you: it’s about fear and has nothing to do with love.

3. F**k the Fear

Fear is irrelevant and it’s time to break up with him.
Every time you choose self-love, fear will have less of a hold on you and your decisions.
Don’t put yourself and your well-being in the hands of someone else because you’re afraid to say no.

4. Fake it ’til you Make it

Loving yourself will not be an overnight job. It’s gonna take years of self-work babe.
Put in the work and until you get there, fake it ’til you make it.
Pretending to love yourself will one day turn into actual self-love and respect.
Act in a way that a person who knows their worth and values themself would.

5. Remember Where you Started

Take note of where you are now. How do you feel about yourself?
How do you want to feel about yourself?
Think about yourself as a child, does she deserve love and compassion?
Move forward, always thinking about your inner child, nurture her, and put her first.
Remembering where you began will keep you focused on where you are headed.

Where you are headed is a beautiful place full of self-worth, love, and respect. You deserve to be loved but that love needs to start from within.

Once it does, it will naturally overflow and bloom into every aspect of your life. You will radiate love and attract it back to you. Focus on yourself, you deserve it, babe.

I believe in you and I’m here for you, every step of the way on your journey to self-love.

This is your complete definition of self-love and why it’s so important to put yourself first.

I have many more resources for you on your self-love journey. Read these for more words of wisdom and know that you are capable of radical self-love:

Self-Love Meaning & Why You NEED to Love Yourself First

This article is dedicated to breaking down the meaning of self-love.