5 Things I wish everyone knew about self-love

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Hello Storytime readers from around the world, I am back with a new article on self-love.  If you don't want to miss any of my new stories jump onto the Storytime U.F.O as we head out to explore the rest of the universe.  Today I want to talk to you about the 5 Things I wish everyone knew about self-love. I had the inspiration to write this article when I realized that if someone had taught me this at an early age I would have dealt with myself in a kinder and more loving matter that would profit my overall wellbeing. I am so grateful for the information that came on my path through life lessons or the wisdom that I received from well-wishers.   It is because I admire that shared wisdom, knowledge, and intellect that I took the initiative to share this with you guys.  I hope you see the value in it no matter what journey or struggles you may personally be going through.  Here are the 5 Things that I wish everyone knew about self-love:

                                                                                                                                          1. Self-love is for everyone!                                                                  

Practicing self-love is a skill that most people still aren't familiar with. That is because they are unaware of the concept. If you are new to self-love there is one thing that you must know and that is that self-love is for everyone.  It doesn't matter how old you are, where you are from, or whatever you look like.  When it comes to self-love, it's about who you are as an individual.   To receive love one must first find it on the inside. The journey that you will take to find that love will help you discover every aspect of who you are. And when you discover the gem that's hidden under a name that society gives you,  you will come to love yourself even more. I have to be honest discovering more about myself, and the strength that I have hidden within has become an addictive process.  So don't be scared to start this journey, it's never too late, and it is worth every second of it.  When you are aware of your identity and what you stand for other people their opinions cannot define you.  The confidence that you will carry will come from within, and when it comes from within you know it is coming from a genuine place.  You must have your best interest at heart as well. Self-love will teach you how to take care of yourself. Remember a healthy version of you will benefit everyone including yourself.

2. Self-love means putting in the work  

I am not saying that self-love is an easy journey. It takes commitment. You have to stay dedicated to yourself.  Not all days will be as easy.  Starting the self-love journey will teach you how to be kinder to yourself and it will help you remove limitations that hold you back from doing the things that you love.  It means that you have to listen to what your soul, body, and mind need so that you can keep evolving into a beautiful healthy individual.  You have to be willing to dissect any unhealthy habits and toxic traits. That takes a lot of strength because a lot of people are afraid to face their faults, fears, and pain.  You will have to gather the courage to see through with your mission. In this case, your mission is to get to know who's living inside the vessel and what you can do to satisfy him or her.  When you become satisfied with who you are, it's a lot easier to let your light shine. You break through the barriers that keep you from shining. A helpful tip that works for me is, why should the light fear the darkness? My light is here to banish every form of anxiety and fear that I have hidden in me or that has been placed upon me based on the perception of other people.  I know this won't be easy every day. Some days I have felt like I have failed for the day. But it is because I keep showing myself a lot of love, dedication, support, understanding, and empathy that I managed to improve and to rise above my problems every time. Now, whenever I pass a troubling phase in my life I remember how great of a problem solver I have become. All the punches I have been dealt taught me how to become better at my defense.  It's that or you can just call me a phoenix.  After every villain I face I upgrade, as a writer I also know that it means that there is an even bigger villain waiting down the storyline. If my life was a story, I can tell you that would be a mind-blowing one with a lot of plot twists.  But on the other hand, I also think this fits my personality since I get bored easily. It doesn't matter to me if it was a good or a bad day. I know that when tomorrow arrives, I will show up and try again. I call that building loyalty with yourself.  Yes, I said building because I believe that loyalty is a bond that must be built.

                              3. Self-love makes you aware

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I have to admit that self-love has made me aware of so many things. It has made me realize how strong I am and what my capabilities are. But it has also made me aware of my weaknesses,  bad patterns, and the cause of it.   This has made it easier for me to face and heal certain traumas and issues. Once the healing process began I noticed an improvement in my daily functionality. I became more content with the quality of my life and started working on the things that I wanted to change. Being aware of my strengths and skills became an advantage for the goals that I wanted to achieve.  Another benefit of being aware of who you are as a person is that it becomes easier for you to pick out the necessary boundaries that need to be implemented into your life. Boundaries that can make your life easier and more pleasant.  Being aware of who you are, helps you value yourself better. When you realize your self worth you begin to respect yourself, and because you respect yourself you know what you can and cannot tolerate from others.  You'll only tolerate what is best for yourself as you begin to identify and defuse the toxic relationships in your life. Toxic relations can easily be identified by being aware of how the people around you make you feel. It's also important to be aware of the things that make you happy and the things that make you sad. Feeling those emotions helps you become more aware of what it is that you need to heal.  You can't fix it if you don't know what's broken!

4. Self-love helps you get rid of self-sabotaging traits 

Once you become more aware of yourself, it's easier to recognize self-sabotaging behavior. No one is perfect, we can't be. Practicing self-love requires you to understand and accept this. We are not looking for perfection, we are looking for healing and understanding. I think that everyone has some self-sabotaging traits, just like how I never met one person that doesn't have issues. You can be at peace with yourself and who you are while at the same time removing the barriers that block your growth.  Identify what some of your self-sabotaging traits are and ask yourself what needs to be changed? What needs to be done for me to let go of negative patterns and cycles? Because I do believe that the only person that can answer, is the person within. No one knows you better than you do! How much do you love the person that's living inside? Enough to try and change into a healthier lifestyle or to make better decisions? You're the only one that can save yourself.  You get to decide, and when you are aware you know what decisions are worth it. And which ones aren't.  Nowadays there are so many ways that we kill ourselves without knowing it.  We become so obsessed with the digital world, that we forget about the one we actually live in.  Some of us even place more value on material gains than on the things that will actually matter when we leave this world behind for our offspring.  We have lost sense of the things that are valuable because we have lost value in ourselves. 

                        5.  Self-love is a never-ending story

I wanted to say that self-love is a never-ending journey, but I am calling it a story. Because if you are the main character, as long as you breathing the show is still running.  It doesn't matter how long you have been practicing self-love, as long as you are enjoying it then you are on the right track.  You get to tune into yourself and reflect on your story as often as you like.  If you decide to embrace self-love it's not something that you can pick up today and quit on tomorrow. That's because the entire concept of self-love is developed around the idea that you cannot give up on yourself. What helps, is when you get to document parts of the story that you're living. I wish I had done that more often during my younger years. Because now that I am older I realized that there are a lot of things that I did that I just don't remember.  Well, I can't be too picky, once upon a time the camera didn't exist.   However, I am determined to keep going on more adventures and to make the best of my life.  Looking at history, if there is one major positive thing that I can take out of it, it is that we humans are survivors, that are capable of creating the impossible. Every day is a new opportunity for discovery, innovation, joy, happiness, and when you don't get that the new day will feel like another exciting gamble if you learn how to love your story.  Most stories are made to inspire us in some way. Now ask yourself this, what inspiring story does your life tell? Coincidentally I was in an Ubuntu United Nations seminar today. I learned a lot of things there that kind of had to do with this article. There was a piece about telling your story. I hadn't published this article yet, but I had already finished a large part of it. While I was following this seminar it dawned upon me that self-love keeps the humanity in us alive.  These are the 5 Things I wish everyone knew about self-love

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