Justin Bieber is right. You need to love yourself to LIVE with yourself. No, loving yourself isn’t narcissist or self-obsessive, it’s about being content with your true and raw self.
Many of you might believe that you respect and adore yourself because you might occasionally visit a spa, go to a gym or get waxed. But is that truly loving yourself? Do you not criticize yourself time and again consciously or unconsciously?
I’ve hung a 6 feet tall mirror near my bed so whenever I wake up, I unfortunately get to see my morning face. Disheveled hair, rotten ivories and a posture that would make Tyra Banks cringe. I woke up just a few minutes ago and I’ve already criticized myself. A closer look at my face in the bathroom mirror and I’ve found two new bright reddish-brown pimples cuddled beneath my nose. Jenna has perfect skin and she doesn’t even need makeup because her skin glows naturally. Sigh.
30 minutes to school. Hurriedly, I take off my clothes to wear the new satin jumpsuit I got for my birthday while trying to avoid glancing at the unmissable and monstrous stretch marks blanketing the bottom half of my stomach. The $200 jumpsuit has clung to my body, reveals the layers on my stomach and makes my shoulders look flabby. I resign on my bed, silently cursing myself for being so fat and ugly. Alicia has such a sleek figure, I’m sure this would look great on her. If I were Sasha, I could buy another one of these. But I can’t afford it… Great! I’m poor too!
About twenty minutes into the day and I’ve completely destroyed my self-esteem, demoralized myself and convinced that I’m the worst creation of God. I might say I love myself but I’m constantly putting myself down every step of the way. This is one of the basic causes of depression and anxiety.
Instead of condemning your very existence, try to improve on things you don’t like about yourself. You don’t like the extra weight you’ve gained? Go to the gym, cut down on carbs or do whatever works for you. Every day is a bad hair day? Consult a hair stylist or YouTube hair styling tutorials.
However, always remember one thing. If YOU don’t like something about your life, attitude or lifestyle then modify it. Don’t change yourself for what others might think of you. Of course, constructive and logical criticism is always welcome (that’s what family and true friends are for!) but never demean yourself to fit into a certain category. So what if you don’t have Jenna’s skin, Sacha’s wealth or Alicia’s body?
You have you and I swear to the old Gods and the new Gods, that is more than enough.
