Overcoming Obstacles of Self-Love

Learning To Love Yourself

Self-love. You hear people constantly promoting, and it sounds like something worth embracing. We speak life into everyone around us, so why wouldn’t we do it to ourselves? Because we’re human, that’s why. If you’re anything like me, maybe you’ve been taught to practice modesty and never be prideful. And both of these are true. But let’s switch the narrative for a moment. 

Let’s recognize that people have different qualities, talents, strengths, and skills. But it doesn’t mean that any one person is better than the other. It just means we are all different. And it takes all of us working together to get things done. There are various ways to approach tasks, different ways of thinking, and different ways of being. And recognizing this truth is the beginning of learning to love yourself. 

Let’s read on as we learn to love the person who looks back at us in the mirror and how to tackle any obstacles that may stand in the way. 

Common Self-Love Obstacles People Face

When you try to practice self-love, you’ll encounter a few barriers that can derail your progress if you need more preparation. You can prevent some of the most common obstacles by being conscious. Let’s peek at some common barriers when learning to love ourselves.

Healthy, positive relationships don’t surround you.

Toxic people can be a significant obstacle to practicing self-love. Suppose you surround yourself with people with a negative outlook on life and drain your energy. In that case, you will also find yourself struggling to embrace self-love. 

Surround yourself with healthy, positive relationships. While all relationships go through hard times, for the most part, they should lift you, make you feel optimistic about yourself, and speak life into your soul. So, if you have associations that cause you more grief than enjoyment, now is the time to start taking a step back and concentrating on happier, healthier relationships. After all, if you surround yourself with people who make you feel bad, you’ll continue to struggle to love yourself.

Feelings of selfishness and guilt

Another significant obstacle to practicing self-love is encountering feelings of selfishness and guilt. Feeling like self-love is selfish can be a common thought that can lead to regret when you attempt to focus more on yourself. If you feel pretty, then know that you’re pretty. If you feel confident, then own your confidence. It doesn’t mean you have to be prideful. It just means that you can shine for yourself.

The importance of understanding self-love is a fundamental need. It’s necessary for your health and well-being; it isn’t just a luxury. It certainly isn’t selfish, so you shouldn’t feel regretful for attempting to love yourself better. 

Attempting to Achieve Perfectionism

Perfectionism is a significant hindrance to self-love. While slight perfectionism can be good, especially in business, it can lead to frustration, unhappiness, and disappointment. 

When you feel like everything must be flawless, you aren’t going to be satisfied when you fall short. So, try and release your need for perfection. Understand what pulls your perfectionism and pinpoint your triggers. Remember, nobody is perfect, not even you! And the wonderful thing about that is, we don’t have to be. We only have to be willing to have an open mind and ready to learn.

Need help understanding how to love yourself?

Finally, another barrier is needing to understand how to love yourself. Many people need to comprehend the definition of self-love fully. They mistakenly believe it is about accomplishing things you want rather than what you need.

Self-love isn’t just about treating yourself; it’s about ensuring you are fulfilling your necessities for living. For example, indulging in junk food isn’t helpful if you want to lose weight, even though it might bring temporary pleasure. Instead, a more nutritious diet and regular exercise routine are considered a form of self-love as they allow you to become healthier and fulfill your body’s needs. Remember, we’re in it for the long journey of life, not sprinting to a moment.

These are just some common obstacles to self-love you must be conscious of. Mindfully, you can calculate how to overcome them when they surface. Surrounding yourself with people you trust and who build you up is a big part of practicing self-love. However, remember to be your cheerleader too. As Whitney Houston sang, learning to love yourself is the greatest love.