There is a huge difference between self-love and being selfish. No, it is not conceited to love yourself. We often doubt ourselves because we do not think we are attractive enough, popular enough, smart enough, etc. It is OK to not be the best at everything. Loving yourself is important, and there are many reasons why.

Loving yourself helps you see how much others love you. This may sound cliché, but it is true. I always thought it was selfish to say, “thank you” when someone called me pretty or said I was good at singing. This did not boost my confidence. I’ve learned to accept the compliment, and if I’m being honest, it makes me feel much happier. I’ve noticed the person complimenting me smiles bigger when they notice my confidence. It makes others happy to know they have made someone else happy. When you reject a compliment for so long, people tend to stop trying. As sad as that sounds, this usually leads to even more self deprecation. I find it heartbreaking that there are so many people out there who won’t take the compliment. It is exhausting wishing you were someone else. Think of it as a blessing when someone compliments you. When you love who you are, you aren’t holding others to an “expectation”.

When we have self confidence, it helps us to get over things like rejection. If we believe we are good enough, it helps us to move on from things when we fail. Self love helps us to keep trying to be the best versions of ourselves. Living our lives to the fullest is something almost all of us want to do. Sure, we can travel the world and try new things, but what does any of this matter if we aren’t loving ourselves while doing it?

Our future depends on us. Imagine your future child looking in the mirror and calling themselves ugly. That would break my heart more than anything. It is important to have love for ourselves so that kids will learn at a young age to love themselves as well.

We must start accepting who we are and loving our honest selves so we can live fulfilling lives. We only get one life, and we are so blessed to be living this life. If we truly aren’t happy with ourselves, we should be setting goals to maintain a healthy lifestyle and mental state to change whatever may be wrong. There will be hard lows and exciting highs, but we are all unique and have so many beautiful traits. Just two words: thank you.