Love

Like love for others, self-love can take many forms, from simple friendship with oneself to purposeful acts of self-care or self-protection. While specific routines and approaches may trend on and off, the concept of self-love is ancient. Religious and cultural leaders, popular artists, poets, and others around the world have long heralded the inherent lovableness and divinity of human beings.

Self-love isn't the same as selfishness or ignorance of others’ needs; seeing our own inherent worth can sometimes help us remember the worth of others. Some people practice loving self-care from a practical and altruistic place in order to better serve others, as in the oft-referenced airplane emergency directions to put your own oxygen mask on first. This mindset centers the understanding that if we ourselves are depleted, it is harder to be generous with others.

At the most basic level, we must learn to understand and meet our own needs in order to survive, and, certainly, if we hope to thrive and enjoy our lives to the fullest. Self-love can also be a simple appreciation of the traits that make us uniquely ourselves. For communities who have experienced oppression, self-love may even be a revolutionary choice.