I know, I know, when people say this, it sounds all whishy-washy and almost “new age” and most people simply switch off to this kind of language, because they simply don’t relate to it.
It could be because no one has ever taken the time to explain exactly what it actually means. You see, you are not supposed to literally love yourself like you would a partner nor love yourself in an arrogant way to believing you are the most handsome or beautiful individual and are therefore better than others…!?!
No, No, no…this is not what it means at all…
The meaning is that you take care of yourself.
Don’t talk down to yourself if you happen to do something wrong (and you will do things wrong, it’s part of learning!), which often happens with our self-talk. Our self-talk can get out of hand and we say things to ourselves that we would never say to anyone else. Unfortunately, you are listening and you take this stuff on board. It can also affect your behavior too if you do this often as your subconscious is paying attention to this language. So don’t say negative things to yourself, it simply is not worth it for your mental state of mind.
Don’t treat your physical body badly either. Look after it. Don’t treat it badly to the detriment of your health. Do exercise if you are able to and it doesn’t mean crazy or extreme stuff either. Just simply walking or swimming will do on a regular basis
The reason for loving yourself is that you have to live in your body for your whole life, so it has to serve you for a lifetime.
Therefore if you haven’t so far, get in the habit of taking care of it, mentally as well as physically. So you need to love yourself to take the time in order to do this properly. So give yourself breaks to recharge for your mental well-being. And ensure your physical state is as best it can be too!
So when you hear the term again, that you “need to love yourself” you may not feel quite so bad in hearing it, because you are now learning to love yourself too!