Childishly, I used to believe love was something fanciful, I expected it to be perfect.. Recently, in trying to learn to love myself, I've realized it can actually be hard work. There are so many needs I need to meet, and I have to give up some activities I like in order to truly love and care for myself - such as staying up late, eating whatever I please.. Love is not about giving myself everything I want, that's just not possible. I need to set boundaries as well.

I'm sharing this to make it more real for myself, to clear my thoughts on this. I just need to understand that when loving myself or others feels difficult, it doesn't mean I'm doing it wrong. I can sometimes get frustrated, tired, jaded.. That's all part of the picture. What matters is that I keep doing it even when it's hard, and ask for help if I need it. I'm so glad to realize this because it means I can love better from now on

[Frankbtl]

Hi ShareYourStory

Yes, I'd say that true love is actually sometimes about accepting, respecting, and even valuing or loving some "imperfections"..........and some "imperfections" can even add to the overall picture, they can be what makes us unique, and stand for individuality.........so getting frustrated etc doesn't necessarily need to be a source of self-criticism but more about individuality..........
And sometimes those "flaws" aren't even "flaws" but a sign of the positives about you e.g. frustration can say that you have higher standards or are looking to strive for "more", tiredness can say that you've pushed yourself to do all that you can or stayed with it as long as you can..........
And staying up late..........eating whatever you want.........even if you were doing that I'd still say that it was very possible to still love yourself..........you're still you and there are going to be so many other aspects of you.........so in the "bigger picture".........actually even without the "bigger picture" it doesn't need to be a factor in loving yourself.
But you are right on with the self-care bit of that..........so maybe schedule in things like that in moderation?? After all "treating" yourself to the occasional "blow out" like that can all be part of showing yourself love............including the parts of yourself which may occasionally want to stay up late!!
But real excellent insight ShareYourStory!!!



Alison

[Fuzzybear]