Self-love allows people to look at themselves and prioritize their well-being, which raises their self-esteem. When an individual exercises self-love, their quality of life increases significantly. This is exactly what psychologist Aline Silva explains below. Follow along in the article!
Aline explains that having self-love involves “valuing and respecting yourself, recognizing and accepting your virtues and defects. It’s about identifying your own needs and taking care of yourself in all aspects of life, nurturing a caring for yourself.”
A person with self-love prioritizes their needs without being selfish, knows how to set limits and say no when necessary, without feeling guilty about it, especially when something goes against their will. “She prioritizes self-care, self-acceptance, and not letting herself be affected by others’ negative opinions about herself,” adds the psychologist. However, it is worth noting that this process is built over time.
Why is it important to have self-love?
Having self-love helps in many areas of life. When you don’t take care of yourself, you end up transferring that need to other people. It will leave you drained physically, mentally, and emotionally. According to Aline, by looking at yourself with affection, you will have these advantages:
Self-knowledge: you start to understand yourself better, you know what you like, what you don’t like and you try to accept yourself as you are, understanding qualities and defects;
Deal better with criticism: “loving yourself also helps you to deal better with criticism, your own mistakes, and other adversities you encounter”;
Knowing how to set limits and say no: as you know yourself well, you are ready to impose your limits and remove from your life those who do not respect them. In addition, they know how to say no when they disagree with a situation or do not want to get involved in it;
Responsibility for your actions: basically, you take on your problems and solve them, without outsourcing the action or looking for culprits;
Improved self-esteem and self-confidence: “in the face of the various situations they face, the person with self-esteem has greater emotional resilience, as well as a greater ability to establish healthy and balanced relationships”;
The psychologist also points out that “having self-love contributes to an improvement in quality of life, the result of self-care with emotional, mental and physical health”.
