7 Reasons To Love Yourself Before You Love Someone Else

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1. Only you have the power to make yourself happy.

If you’re like me, then you derive a lot of your daily happiness from external factors—the barista that made your coffee just right, or the simple fact that it didn’t rain on your one good hair day of the week. It’s easy to rely on outside things and, more specifically, other people for our happiness. It’s a word that we seem to throw around a lot. Yes, other people and other things can give us brief joy, but what makes us truly happy is being at peace with ourselves, accepting and embracing ourselves in the deepest sense. Loving ourselves—for better or for worse.

2. You can’t give someone a drink from a cup that’s not full.

Okay, well maybe you could, but let’s assume that most people prefer to drink from full cups. If you’re not brimming with love for yourself, how do you expect to be able to share some of that with anyone else—while having some left over for yourself?

3. You’re the most reliable person you know.

You may not be that girl who always shows up on time. And maybe you don’t always have it all together on the rare occasions that you do. But if you love yourself, when it comes down to it, you always show up for you—whether or not anyone else does.

4. Self-love makes you more attractive.

Let’s face it: Physical attraction is part of it. Self-love is born out of self-acceptance, which makes you happier. Being happy makes you more confident. And confidence is sexy. But it’s more than just how you carry yourself. Loving yourself on the inside makes you more inviting and warm, more beautiful from the inside out—quite literally.

5. Loving yourself will constantly remind you not to settle.

Just in case your overbearing mother didn’t reiterate this one enough to you, self-love will keep you from allowing yourself to become complacent in your love life. You need someone that gets you, someone with passion and purpose. You need someone who treats you right, so treat yourself right. Lead by example.

6. You’ll attract people who want to be with you for the right reasons.

Whatever those reasons may be, you get what you project.

7. You’ll be successful in all aspects of your life, not just your love life.

Personal and professional, private and public—they are generally more jumbled up together than we would like to admit. Happiness and success in one area often spill over into happiness and success in another.