Self-love is important. It is a big contributor to your health, your happiness and even your success in life. How we interpret our reality depends heavily on how we see ourselves. People who love themselves appreciate their daily experiences and welcome them with open arms; on the other hand, people who hate themselves see their experiences as ugly, mundane, and even hurtful. How would you interpret the experience of drinking coffee alone in a café? People full of self-hate would describe the experience as a moment of loneliness and sadness; but people full of self-love would appreciate the experience as time gained for privacy and solitude. How do you react to a rainy day? People with much self-love embrace the relaxing moment and recall their childhood days of play; on the other hand, people who hate themselves are stressed out and are reminded of their tears and depression.
Loneliness? or Solitude?
Can you see the patterns of example given above? The situations are all the same while people’s reactions end in at least two ways – they either embrace the moment or reject it. That holds true with happiness. Happiness doesn’t and shouldn’t depend on the situation, because happiness is brought forth from the inside. It is brought forth from the way we accept ourselves, from the way we love ourselves.
Have you come across people who thought that money or marriage will bring them happiness but they soon end up disappointed after getting them? This is what happens when you ‘pursue happiness’. People who pursue happiness think that happiness is something you can chase and something you can catch outside. But whether they get the car of their dreams, the love of their lives, hit all their career goals and targets they wonder, why am I still not happy? That is because they look for happiness in the wrong places. Without changing from the inside and without loving themselves first, all the trophies they collected to give them happiness end up as empty vanities that leave them more lost, more frustrated and more loathsome toward themselves.
True happiness is happiness whether it’s rainy or sunny outside, whether you are alone at home or with a group in a party, whether you earn big or not; true happiness is happiness that is unshakable by external circumstances. So stop chasing for things that hold no meaning to your life thinking that it can give you lasting happiness. Happiness is a choice that when we start loving ourselves, happiness installs itself in our consciousness and in our lives. You can claim your happiness now, you deserve it, and you don’t need anything else to ‘earn’ it.
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