Let me ask you a question: who’s your best friend? You know… the person that: fights for you, respects you, includes you, encourages you, needs you, deserves you and stands by you — F.R.I.E.N.D.
If you are thinking too long, then you’re thinking wrong. Why? Because that person is you… Mind blowing isn’t it? The obvious answer was right in front of you. When times are rough, people that are so-called your “friends” tend to reveal their true colours. To be honest, people don’t need friends to live but friends make one’s life so much better. Life with no friends is like eating a toast with no butter, it’s okay, but it would taste much better with some butter on it. Friends are like butter, not essential but definitely nice to have around.
The same concept goes for having romantic partners. It’s nice to have someone with whom you can share your life in a more intimate way. But just don’t forget, these people are not indispensable in your life. When people cry their eyes out at the end of a relationship saying that they cannot live without the other person, that’s a lie. Why? Just remember the person you were before the relationship… you were doing just fine, before you met them, therefore, stop making such a big drama about. Harsh words… but you know it’s the truth.
Now going back to today’s topic: respecting your best friend/respecting yourself. In my opinion, it’s all about love. If you learn to love yourself, you’ll get others to love you too. And when you love yourself, you are respecting yourself.
5 Ways To Love Yourself
Know yourself. Identity is key and knowledge is power. Therefore, the more you know about yourself, the more empowered you’ll feel.
Accept your flaws. I’m sure that everyone has felt insecure about something at some point in their lives. The trick is to embrace the things that make you feel insecure, body-wise, personality-wise… From the moment you acknowledge them, you’ll start to feel better.
Be honest. Always choose to be true to yourself. Do not compromise to please others. When you are not being honest with yourself, you are not respecting yourself and others around you won’t either.
Avoid being perfect. Striving for excellence is a noble pursuit, but it can keep you from enjoying the moment. Try your best, but make peace with your decisions and embrace the results. Mistakes are proof that you are trying.
Be confident. Sometimes we just need to give ourselves more credit. In order to be more confident, we don’t need to be a 10/10, we just need to feel like a 10/10. Most of the times, we are already there, but we just don’t believe enough in ourselves to claim the things that are ours.
That’s it, self-love is self-respect. In the words of Iggy Azalea: “Baby I got me and that’s all I need.”