You can look in the mirror at any given moment and find hundreds of flaws. You can turn on the television and compare yourself to every single actor or actress and end up short. You can close your eyes and dream of all the ways you could be better, prettier, stronger, more attractive.
Or you could simply smile and acknowledge the fact that you are always a work in progress.
Self-love isnt about chasing perfection.
It isnt about seeing yourself as the center of the universe.
It isnt about pretending that theres nothing wrong with you.
And it isnt about brokenness and self-pity.
Self-love is about loving your mess.
Its about seeing yourself as you area little confusing, a little crazy, a little lacking in some areasbut a self you are proud of, nonetheless. Its not about looking at whos around you, or even about how you havent gotten to the place you thought you would.
Ive seen and read thousands of things on self-love. How youre supposed to love every piece of yourself, and thats true. But thats not everything. You cant just love the broken pieces. You cant focus on the pain and wear it like a badge on your chest. You have to be bigger than what hurt you. Acknowledge it, then move forward.
And you cant have so much self-love that you convince yourself youre perfect either.
You cant love yourself into complacency. You must always see yourself as beautiful, yes. But as a beautiful work in progress.
The other day, I went to the gym and found myself staring at my reflection in the mirror after a good arm workout. In college, I had been the starting pitcher for my softball team, and in the months after my senior season, I was too heartbroken to throw. To be completely honest, its probably been six months since Ive even picked up a softball.
Working out is different now. I dont workout for games; I workout for myself. But it was strange to see my reflection in the mirror and realize that my body looks different, that my arms arent as visibly strong as they used to be.
It made me start to doubt who I was as a person.
It made me see all my flaws and take note of them.
But then as I stretched and felt my newly-sore shoulder muscles tense from their workout I realized something
No, I wasnt where I used to be, even a few months ago. And no, I wasnt even the same person as I was a few months back. But there were still things to love about myself. I was still strong, still powerful, even if I was different.
See, I think thats what self-love is all about. Its not about looking back or looking around, its not about comparisons or focusing on negativity, and its not about seeing yourself as too perfect that youre untouchable.
Self-love is about seeing yourself . Its about embracing who you are and how far youve come, while always pushing forward into who you can be.
Its looking in the mirror and thinking,
Its loving where you are but not allowing that to keep you from improving.
Because change is the only thing thats constant in life.
And loving yourself while continuing to grow and cange
