I LOVE MYSELF in order to LOVE others!

{Post:287/365 Original Post: I AM a QUEEN}



To LOVE yourself does not mean to be conceited, selfish, or self-absorbed to the exclusion of all others. It means knowing and accepting yourself and that YOU are valuable. JUST as valuable as anyone else.
It means that you do not subjugate your own needs and desires to please everyone else first but, rather that you take care of YOU when you need to in order to respect and honour yourself and build and maintain your OWN self-esteem and self worth.
Other people cannot give these things to you.
NO MATTER how much you do to try and please them all and receive accolades and rewards or esteem boosts from their compliments and appreciation in the end you will still carry that dark black hole around inside you and it can never get filled up by ANY OF THEM.
YOU must find YOURSELF inside YOURSELF and feed your own needs and neurosis with your own knowledge, beliefs, understanding and acceptance of ALL that is beautiful and wonderful inside of you and about you!
Beating yourself down won't do this. Berating yourself won't do it. Calling yourself an idiot or stupid or any other names to try and motivate yourself to be better is USELESS and will only squash you down further.
YOU must find, see, recognize and BUILD UP anything you see inside yourself that is BEAUTIFUL, GOOD, POSITIVE, USEFUL, or CREATIVE. YOU must BELIEVE in the beauty and light that shines from within you and never let anyone else squash it down or try to blow it out!
Maybe it is only a tiny spark of light but YOU can fan the flame and build it higher, bigger and brighter EVERY DAY.
THAT is loving yourself FIRST. 
THAT is honouring and respecting the heart and soul that resides within you.
When you can LOVE yourself then you will still LOVE to hear and receive appreciation from others and it will reaffirm what YOU already know...that YOU are wonderful, that other people DO recognize this, but, that YOU do NOT NEED them to tell you all this in order for you to KNOW this!
When you know, accept and love yourself it is EASIER to do the same for other people because then you recognize that we are all equally valuable and important...to ourselves AND to each other!