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Have You Accepted Yourself?
A short essay on self-love and acceptance.
Before my first relationship, I always wondered, “Will a girl ever accept someone like me?”
I now see the folly in this question.
I was hoping and expecting to be accepted by some random stranger, without even accepting myself first.
My confidence and self-esteem were all over the place. I was like Chandler.
“Hopeless and awkward and desperate for love.”
And here’s the thing: Someone “accepting you” as you are, without you accepting yourself first, is even worse.
You can only love others to the degree you love yourself.
There can be no fulfilling love without self-awareness and self-acceptance. Start by accepting yourself fully. Both your good and bad parts.
And accepting yourself doesn’t mean you stop growing. In reality, accepting yourself only accelerates your growth.
There is a difference between self-love and self-coddling. The latter is harmful, the latter isn’t.
Accept yourself first.
