Nobody can know you better than you know yourself. Nobody else has access to your every single one of your innermost thoughts, fears, and dreams. That's all yours, and no one will ever take that away from you...unless you let them.

So it doesn't matter how wonderful he is. I don't care about how you feel when she enters the room. Regardless of how your lover lights up your world, they shouldn't be the controlling force at the center of it. Ever. That force is yours and yours alone, and giving that up to someone else will be really toxic.

I'm not saying this because I'm jealous of anyone in a relationship. I'm saying this because whether you're single now or you're very much in love with your significant other, you should never believe that another person is the sole reason for your happiness. At the end of the day, the only person who will unfailingly be dedicated to making you happy is you.

You can be in a romantic relationship and enjoy all of its beautiful moments, but you should never depend on your relationship for fulfillment in your life. Nobody can know you better than you know yourself. Nobody else has access to your every single one of your innermost thoughts, fears, and dreams. That's all yours, and no one will ever take that away from you...unless you let them.

Relationships come and go.

We grow older and as time goes by, we lose family members, friends, and lovers. You can't chain someone to you by begging them to stay, saying that "they're the only part of yourself that you love" or that "they are your happiness". If someone wants to leave badly enough, they will, and then you will have to come to terms with the fact that you don't have them for the company anymore. But that's okay; as awful as it feels to have someone you love walk out of your life, they haven't defeated you if you held on to your sense of self.

If you are seeing someone, you can't use them as an excuse to avoid working on yourself. What they're supposed to do is care about you no matter what you're struggling with. Their love may help keep you afloat, but you're the one who's swimming. You are stronger than you give yourself credit for.

You've mastered appreciating someone else's presence in your life, so now you can focus on appreciating yours, too. It always helps to have a lover standing by your side as you go into battle with your inner demons, but don't expect them to bail you out every time.

It takes a lot of courage to put your heart on the line and open yourself up to another human being. But it takes just as much (if not even more) effort to become comfortable in your own skin. You can devote time to self-care without being selfish.

You don't have to be single to be independent.

One of the healthiest decisions you will ever make is choosing to fall in love with yourself. The best part about that 'relationship' is that it isn't exclusive; you can still soak up all of the love and joy that your S.O. brings you even as you thrive all on your own. And if that person drops everything and leaves you, you'll still be standing.

Christopher Robin once said, "you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think". Never let your relationship dominate your life to such an extent that you forget your worth as an individual.

You were beautiful and capable before they started loving you.