Self-love isn’t selfish
When I still lived in China, I noticed one interesting thing. The more I was doing things that I enjoyed, the more I loved myself. Love as a verb is a key to self-love. When we do what we love then inevitably we become love.
The simple act of doing what inspires you and makes you happy will bring you into vibrations of love. It doesn’t mean that you must be doing only the things you love all the time. It means that you should be doing some of the things that make your heart sing when you can.
It can be 30 minutes a day, or it can be two hours per week. One of the most common excuses is a lack of time. But you can find a few minutes here and there and see where it goes.
I like to think about self-love as an act for myself and also for others.
As I said earlier, when we love ourselves, we’re also much nicer to other people. And when we follow our hearts, very often we create something beautiful and useful for others too. All of the great businesses have started this way. All of the great paintings, theater plays, and songs have been created because someone has followed what they loved.
How to practice self-love and acceptance
The easiest way to start is to write down all the great things which you want to experience in your life. Kind of like a bucket list. I did this a couple of years ago in China, and since then almost everything has happened, and the rest happened during 2017.
I’ve realized that I’m the only person in this whole world with whom I spend every single second, so I’ve decided to enjoy it and make it fun. I told myself that I was tired of waiting for miracles, or someone special, or for better circumstances.
About 8 years ago, I decided to make my dreams happen and also enjoy the process. My list of things that I wanted to do included things that I’d been postponing or even afraid of doing but deep inside I wanted them badly. Creating the list of things I want is more about the way I want to feel while doing them. I like to feel free, inspired, and deeply rooted in life itself and connected with the Universe.
Let’s say that you love water, but you’ve never learned to swim properly. Ask yourself whether you’d like to be the man or woman who has never even tried? Do you want to die without knowing the feeling of how it is to merge with water? If not, then go to a swimming pool and train breathing under the water so you can then swim more effortlessly.
The way how to practice self-love and acceptance is about embracing your life and also yourself. It’s never too late to dream again and have new hobbies. We don’t need to live life without joy and full of obligations. Do the things that make you feel loved and loving. Take care of yourself and schedule in some “me time” and you’ll see that you’re falling in love with yourself because you allowed yourself to feel more love.