Category: Overflowing

Saying to someone “love yourself” is about as helpful as saying to someone “become healthy.”

Like becoming healthy, self-love is a multi-faceted challenge that requires careful introspection, a profound determination or desire, and an extensive life-long commitment—it isn’t something that is just “fixed.”

Maybe, instead of telling people to arbitrarily love themselves, we can be an example for them or encourage them to do more of the things where the byproduct is self-love.

Things like exercise, healthy eating, meditating, reading, writing, therapy, joining supportive and uplifting communities, etc.

When I think back to the people who have inspired me the most in my life… I think of the ones who were modeling a way of life that I wanted to live… not merely talking about one.

So, before you go telling other people to love themselves… consider the idea that loving yourself fully might be the most impactful thing you might ever do for them anyhow.

Not to mention, of course, that the byproduct of this method is that you get to (re)focus your energy into loving yourself fully—which is the ultimate win in-and-of itself.

P.s. MoveMe Quotes got an update. I increased the font size/ readability, removed a bunch of unnecessary meta text, refreshed the look of the blog pages and articles, and more… enjoy :)

When we are born, we are radiating packages of energy. Overflowing from every pore the very essence of life into all that comes near. As we grow, however, we come into contact with energy that’s dull, faded, confused. And in more cases than not—it slowly takes an effect. We slowly start to refuse our bodily energy. We slowly fold closed our open minds. We slowly restrict our pores and suppress our infinitely-sourced energy.

…Until eventually, we embody an energy that’s dull, faded, and confused ourselves.

The easiest way to reverse this process is to spend more time with those who are still radiating packages of energy. The effect can be instantaneous—it’s really an incredibly thing to see. Serious folks who never so much as smile start quacking like a duck; cranky, self-conscious teenagers playing peek-a-boo and poke-the-belly with cartoon toys; the angriest, most short-tempered relatives hitting high-pitch notes you didn’t know they were even capable of hitting—all from simply seeing a newborn.

I see this as a sign of hope.

One that says, nothing is permanently lost; you’re not “too far gone;” you’re not “unable to change”—you’re just under some deep layers of crap energy and crap behavior. If only you’ll start digging yourself out and letting that inextinguishable life energy flow freely once again, maybe you’ll start radiating and positively affecting all whom you come into contact with how you once did—all those years ago when we didn’t know a single thing, yet knew a truth so profound that even the most close-minded, stubborn around you fell victim to your shine.

The number of competitors you have in this world is directly tied to the depth of your self-love. The more you love yourself… the fewer competitors you have.

Why? Because the more you love yourself, the less you have to prove. Challenge is welcome. But, the egotistical need to place yourself above others, dissipates. You’re already whole. You’re already worthy. You’re already great. That’s what self-love proves.

See… the real challenge isn’t to increase the number of people you’ve beaten… it’s to increase the depth of your self-love until external competition ceases to exist.

P.s. I have a collection of 280+ quotes and resources on self-love. You can browse here.

If you want to improve the love you have with another…

Help the other improve the love they have with themself.

Let them have alone time, explore their interests, try new things, create and express freely, learn new skills, go on retreats, do poignant inner work…

You stopping them from doing such tasks is precisely what’s stopping them from being able to love you deeper.

Why? Because each of us can only ever love to the level of our own self-love.

A person’s inability to love another deeper has nothing to do with the other’s worthiness of receiving deeper love.

P.s. I asked “What are you avoiding?” Because it isn’t obvious to me what I might be avoiding. Worth thinking carefully about. Here are other people’s thoughts.