We have reached the age of absolute self-love, where everyone is encouraged to be confident and love the skin they’re in—and it’s amazing.

However, with all this talk about body positivity and loving yourself for who you are right now, there is a sort of pressure not to change. If you’re watching what you eat so you can get rid of that holiday weight, some people may bombard you with judgments like, “Why are you restricting yourself? Don’t you love yourself?”

It’s important to remember that part of loving yourself is being able to grow and improve. The difference between improving so you can accept yourself, and improving so you’re always the best version of yourself, comes in how you approach those improvements.

Instead of looking at yourself and thinking, “I’d be so much happier if I lost 20 pounds,” think, “I am happy with myself right now, but I am going to continue being healthier.” Being happy and accepting yourself are the best things that you can do for yourself.

Having a positive effect on others is good for you, too. You might find that some things you do are negatively affecting others. Maybe you were too brutally honest when your friend asked if that dress looked good on her.

Instead of being stubborn and convincing yourself that you’re always right and you shouldn’t change, try finding small ways to better yourself. You can keep your honest qualities that you’ve grown to love, while also being kind and helping your friend find something more flattering.

Coming to terms with your actions and working to affect people positively is in turn reflecting how you love yourself. That’s putting peace and love back into your life, while staying true to yourself.

There’s nothing wrong with striving to do greater, and that’s so much easier to do when you’re there to support yourself. Loving yourself is important. Don't forget that you are going to have so many more experiences throughout your lifetime, meet tons of new people, and change your mind about a bunch of things—so don’t limit yourself to who you are now.