“Loving Yourself: What Does It Mean to Love You Not for Who You Are, But for Who I Am Before You?”

For so many of us, loving ourselves is a process that is often overlooked, as we try to prioritize the needs and wants of everyone around us before taking time for ourselves. It’s hard to take that time to truly connect with our own desires, hopes, dreams, and flaws. This difficulty can be intensified when the need to love ourselves is misinterpreted to mean loving who we are rather than who we can be.

It is important to recognize the distinction between loving yourself and loving the idea of what you are or could become. The first often tends to leave us feeling inferior, because the current state of our being is rarely perfect. But by placing the emphasis on loving ourselves for who we are before rather than who we currently are, we create a new source of confidence. This idea comes from the understanding that while life throws us many curves, each moment provides us with a new opportunity to reinvent ourselves, learn, and grow.

Letting go of the preconceived notions of who you currently are and instead, celebrating your journey from then until now can make the seemingly impossible task of loving yourself easier. With this newfound attitude, instead of reflecting on where you fall short of an ideal standard, you focus on your journey and growth in each area of life. Through this lens, it becomes easier to identify the goals that align with the values that shape your identity and view each setback as an opportunity for self-improvement.

Overall, by reminding yourself that you have come a long way and that you have potential for further growth, you can adopt an attitude of self-love that comes from within. Each mistake is an opportunity for learning and developing yourself in an area that once felt out of reach. Although it is an uphill battle to recognize the need to love yourself, accepting who you were and becoming who you are is an achievement that should be praised and embraced.