How do you learn to love yourself?

Most of us grow up believing that self love comes when we are able to fix or change all the parts of us that we do not love. So we wait until we believe we are worthy of that love to give it to ourselves. But what if it takes a lifetime for us to fix and change everything we want to? What if we never get there? What are we supposed to do in the messiness of the in-between space?​​​​​​​​
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The truth is that true self love doesn’t come from becoming the idealized, perfect versions of us. It actually comes from accepting who we are as flawed human beings. We will never be perfect and will continue to stumble and make mistakes. It is not the stumbling and mistakes that matter because what matters most is how we treat ourselves when we do find ourselves in those spaces.​​​​​​​​
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So instead of waiting to feel worthy of loving yourself, choose to love yourself first. Choose to accept and embrace all the parts of you and recognize that the shadow parts of us are what need our love the most. Then the healing and change will follow. ​​​​​​​​