As cliché as it sounds, love yourself.
We all have a finite time line in this one huge rock we call Earth, and during this time, we often encounter people from different walks. There are ones who we grow into like our families. There are also ones we choose to keep close like our peers, and there are those whose presence we only happily acknowledge along the way.
Some people love wearing shoes, others prefer wearing sandals, while a few love going barefoot in walking outdoors. Some people love dogs, some love cats, and some don't like either of the two. Some people are extroverts, some are introverts and some are a mixture of both. Some people are attracted to women, men, both or maybe just certain people, and you know what? It's all okay.
There are people who like video games, movies, or books. There are people who love collecting rocks, vintage photos, postage stamps and so on. There are people who love to express themselves in writing, drawing, and the like.
How our environment influences us and how we interact with our environment molds us into the people that we become over time. There are some things that we don't have a say in like how we look like or if we are born with genetic peculiarities. These readily become a part of our identity as human beings, but for the huge part of it, we have a lot of things that we have control over, like how we carry ourselves, how we choose to interact with other people and how we react in certain situations.
Based on certain experiences, I notice that most people justify their not-so-good behavior with statements like "This is me. Live with it." or "I'm just being myself". These can come off as controversial especially when the behavior we exhibit often hurt other people. We can't totally blame ourselves however. These are often brought out by the downside of modern-age technology and globalization. People have easy access to things like these nowadays and thus often use these out of context. What we can do is to make continued conscious decisions to take the things that we come across on the internet with a grain of salt.
Person in the back: "But I have to love myself"
Yes, you do have to love yourself, but it doesn't mean you have to stay satisfied with yourself when you are being abrasive and damaging towards other people, because honestly, would you love a person who is like that?
Love yourself so that you can love other people properly. It is never the other way around. You can never love other people properly when you don't love yourself in the first place. Your love for yourself is what should stay when it seems like all your loved ones and all the things that boost your ego (accomplishments, wealth, influence, beauty or youth) are exiting out of your life. You (even in the absence of all these things) are all you need and much more.
When you love yourself, it means you have to stop being so critical about yourself. Know and accept the fact that you are human, that you are not perfect, that you have limitations, that you sometimes make mistakes, and that you are a work in progress. It means that you are willing to forgive yourself of the mistakes you may have committed in the past but also work through them, and learn from them so that you can grow into a better version of yourself in the future. It also means acknowledging that all these things are true for everyone else and that's why we should strive to also be accepting instead of being critical of them.
It might come off as challenging, because it is. Changing for the better is never easy but the ends are worth it compared to never giving a single thought about it. This is why we live in this age where anxiety and depression have a tight grip on our society because almost everyone is not happy with themselves and instead, feed off from external sources to give their egos a boost. Since they can't find acceptance or anything good within themselves, they seek acceptance from other places (e.g. work or school related-accomplishments, unhealthy relationships and friendships, drug abuse and the like). And what's the end result from all these things? Tired, burnt out and miserable people.
I am not saying that all of the things that were mentioned are bad. Work- and school- related accomplishments are fine, but when they become the sole source for one's sense of self-worth and self-esteem, it is and never will be healthy.
Know yourself first. Try new things. Learn your limits. Meet new people. Find what resonates as true for you. List what bad habits you want to change about yourself, and gracefully work on it slowly but surely. Finally, do your best to also help other people going through the same process.
These past few weeks have been super challenging for me. I hope all of us make the most out of our trials in order to grow. Take care.
Some people love wearing shoes, others prefer wearing sandals, while a few love going barefoot in walking outdoors. Some people love dogs, some love cats, and some don't like either of the two. Some people are extroverts, some are introverts and some are a mixture of both. Some people are attracted to women, men, both or maybe just certain people, and you know what? It's all okay.
There are people who like video games, movies, or books. There are people who love collecting rocks, vintage photos, postage stamps and so on. There are people who love to express themselves in writing, drawing, and the like.
How our environment influences us and how we interact with our environment molds us into the people that we become over time. There are some things that we don't have a say in like how we look like or if we are born with genetic peculiarities. These readily become a part of our identity as human beings, but for the huge part of it, we have a lot of things that we have control over, like how we carry ourselves, how we choose to interact with other people and how we react in certain situations.
Based on certain experiences, I notice that most people justify their not-so-good behavior with statements like "This is me. Live with it." or "I'm just being myself". These can come off as controversial especially when the behavior we exhibit often hurt other people. We can't totally blame ourselves however. These are often brought out by the downside of modern-age technology and globalization. People have easy access to things like these nowadays and thus often use these out of context. What we can do is to make continued conscious decisions to take the things that we come across on the internet with a grain of salt.
Person in the back: "But I have to love myself"
Yes, you do have to love yourself, but it doesn't mean you have to stay satisfied with yourself when you are being abrasive and damaging towards other people, because honestly, would you love a person who is like that?
Love yourself so that you can love other people properly. It is never the other way around. You can never love other people properly when you don't love yourself in the first place. Your love for yourself is what should stay when it seems like all your loved ones and all the things that boost your ego (accomplishments, wealth, influence, beauty or youth) are exiting out of your life. You (even in the absence of all these things) are all you need and much more.
When you love yourself, it means you have to stop being so critical about yourself. Know and accept the fact that you are human, that you are not perfect, that you have limitations, that you sometimes make mistakes, and that you are a work in progress. It means that you are willing to forgive yourself of the mistakes you may have committed in the past but also work through them, and learn from them so that you can grow into a better version of yourself in the future. It also means acknowledging that all these things are true for everyone else and that's why we should strive to also be accepting instead of being critical of them.
It might come off as challenging, because it is. Changing for the better is never easy but the ends are worth it compared to never giving a single thought about it. This is why we live in this age where anxiety and depression have a tight grip on our society because almost everyone is not happy with themselves and instead, feed off from external sources to give their egos a boost. Since they can't find acceptance or anything good within themselves, they seek acceptance from other places (e.g. work or school related-accomplishments, unhealthy relationships and friendships, drug abuse and the like). And what's the end result from all these things? Tired, burnt out and miserable people.
I am not saying that all of the things that were mentioned are bad. Work- and school- related accomplishments are fine, but when they become the sole source for one's sense of self-worth and self-esteem, it is and never will be healthy.
Know yourself first. Try new things. Learn your limits. Meet new people. Find what resonates as true for you. List what bad habits you want to change about yourself, and gracefully work on it slowly but surely. Finally, do your best to also help other people going through the same process.
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| More of my aunt's flowers. Ya'll have a lovely day. |
These past few weeks have been super challenging for me. I hope all of us make the most out of our trials in order to grow. Take care.
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