Self Love Is Vital for Any Type of Success
Self-love is rarely linked to success or achievement in one’s life goals. Unfortunately, when most of us were taught how to accomplish life goals, we were never taught that self-love was a necessary ingredient.
I used to think success was about staying up late, aggressively working hard, and minimizing sleep. In fact, this is the wrong way to think about sustainable success.
This path left me stressed, unhappy, burnt out, and less willing to stress others because I thought I had to do it myself.
And even more important, it cost me my health and my relationships with my family and friends. This was not the success I was craving.
I didn’t realize the power behind cultivating self-love for the genuine success I was craving. Because I lacked self-love for myself, I chased my goals out of fear of losing them, my self-esteem depended on accomplishment, and my inner voice became my fiercest judge.
Self-love can be associated with your inner voice. Your inner voice judges or encourages you in every facet of your life. It can be your biggest cheerleader or your own worst enemy. Unfortunately, many people have not taken the time to listen and hear their inner voice that governs their behaviors, how they treat themselves, and how they treat others.
More often than not, most people’s inner voice is not very nice at all. If you don’t consciously cultivate a healthy inner voice that ultimately contributes to your self-love, it won’t be expressed in your life.
Here’s the truth: How can you enjoy your success, happiness, and relationships if you constantly beat yourself up inside or feel like you are not worthy of them?
So many people try to go out and conquer their world for material success but haven’t even conquered themselves yet. This type of success is not enduring and, quite frankly, exhausting.
And if your inner voice was anything like mine, you can become number to it over time as if we are supposed to just live with it. My inner voice – which was very condemning and overly critical – was so normal that I almost became unconscious of it. Yet, unbeknownst to me, it was affecting my future success, behaviors, and how I treated myself, how I treated others, but I didn’t even know it.
Our inner voice is our judge that lies deep within our mind, commonly referred to as self-esteem. And as most of us know, self-esteem – confidence in one’s abilities and respect for yourself – plays a massive role in one’s success, happiness, and fulfillment. Without confidence, we stay stagnant, and growth isn’t possible.
“Love yourself unconditionally, just as you love those closest to you despite their faults.” — Les Brown
How does self-love affect your future success in life?
Think of your self-love as a direct reflection of how you treat others around you. In fact, that’s precisely what it is. Your self-love mirrors how you treat those closest to you in the workplace, in relationships, and in friendships.