The Beauty of Self Love

A few weeks ago I submitted a piece to Local Wolves for their "self love" issue. Unfortunately, it wasn't chosen but that doesn't mean I won't stop applying and sending things in! It also doesn't mean I can't share it here on A Tiny Traveler, so enjoy!


Self-love is something that so many of us have a hard time understanding. We hear phrases like “treat yourself,” and we think that self-love is all about doing nice things for ourselves or going on a shopping spree. While these are nice gestures, they don’t really help our heart condition. Loving yourself is so much more than spending a little money on yourself or putting on some makeup.

When I was young, I struggled with comparison. In fact, as a young adult I still struggle with it from time to time. My hair, my body type, my personality, nothing is as good as the next person’s…and it never will be. We are each unique and different and I started realizing how toxic and negative I was feeling as I continued to allow myself to compare what I was to what others are. Through the process of breaking the habits of comparison and self-loathing, I began to change my mindset.

Self-love starts with a positive thought. It starts with believing that you deserve happiness. Once you believe that, you can start feeling like you deserve other things, like opportunity and love. Something that I’ve also started to realize in my journey towards self-love is that with each moment we truly love ourselves and believe in our capabilities, we can love others more and more.

I am worthy of love.

I am valued.

I am important.


I try to tell myself these things at the start of each day. Maybe as you read this, you can write a list of truths to tell yourself as well. I believe the more you tell yourself the truth, the sooner you’ll start to believe it. We are all deserving of kindness and love, and once we start showing it to ourselves we’ll start showing it to others and make living a more positive experience. When we cut out negative self-talk, doubts, and anger towards our past or our shortcomings, we leave room for self-love and we can start to live a more positive life. Self-love is more than buying ourselves the shoes, or making sure our wants and needs are met. Self-love extends farther, goes deeper. True self-love begins when we stop hating our mistakes and start celebrating our victories and the lessons we are learning.

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