I'm sure you've heard the quote "You can't love others until you love yourself." In all honesty, I really only half believe this quote because I've loved others without loving myself and I was okay. I didn't realize how important self love was until my last relationship. I loved him more than anything. After we broke up, I truly felt empty. I didn't know who I was and I definitely didn't love myself. So I'm going to tell you why self love is important and why we all need to practice it. You may be one of the many people who need to hear this, so do me a favor and listen up.

We tend to blame others when we feel down or hurt. Maybe they were a factor as to why you feel the way you do, but maybe the other part of it is that you don't love yourself enough. You're probably thinking, "Man this girl is crazy. Of course I love myself!" I used to think that too. Just hear me out. Many people, including myself, find self hate and self doubt unattractive. If you do that to yourself, who's really going to love you? I know that sounds a little harsh but just ask yourself that question. I feel as though we are taught at a young age to love everyone. I don't think we were ever taught to love ourselves. Is it really something that can be taught though? Maybe it's just something that we learn from our mistakes or past.

Get in comfy clothes and grab a glass of your favorite drink then ask yourself some of these questions. How much do you really love yourself? Not how you present yourself or feel appearance wise, but who you are within. Are you happy with who you are when you're not around your friends or when you're just sitting alone? Do you know your self worth? Love yourself because no one is going to love you more. Love who you are when you have no makeup on and your hair isn't done. I am a work in progress and so are you. We all are. We're all growing and changing and we need to learn to love ourselves as we do so. I may not know who you are but I bet you're amazing. Don't ever doubt yourself and never depend on others for confidence. Love yourself because no one is going to love you more. This doesn't mean shut people out and push them away.

There are so many reasons to love yourself and they're all important. When you love yourself you realize all your good traits. You end up accepting yourself and doing things to improve. Everyone has imperfections but when you love yourself, you focus on your strong points and look better. Self love can help you reach fitness goals the proper way and improve mental health as well. If you can't find a reason to love yourself while reading this, just remember that someone somewhere wants you to be happy and for you to love who you are.