“Starting with ourselves

we’ll change the world around us,

we will make it more.”

— Daily Haiku on Love by Tyler Knott Gregson

Many of us might think taking pictures of ourselves, talking about ourselves excessively, overindulging in material needs like make up and clothes are acts of loving ourselves, but no they are not.

Loving yourself is taking care of yourself, making sure your body has enough nutrients, exercising to stay healthy, trimming your nails and hair when they are overgrown, dressing up to look good mainly for yourself, not for others.

Loving yourself is doing things that make you, not other people, happy.

Loving yourself is not beating yourself down so that other people can pull you up, that's dependance.

Loving yourself is not talking so much about yourself because you are so confident about yourself you are able to share it with others, that's just being egotistical and deep down inferior.

Loving yourself is not taking the same picture of your face over and over again just so you can watch the number of likes soar on your social media, that's just a need to be reminded how beautiful you are, which you can do so yourself if you really love yourself.

Loving yourself is putting your happiness first because only then do you have the capacity to love others.

Love, like the gesture of pouring wine into a mountain of wine glasses in a wedding,can only flow when its overflown. We have to love ourselves first in order to love others or our 'act of love' for others will just be an 'act for love'. 

Love yourself first because you are more beautiful than you think you are and you deserve to be loved by you first.