Love Yourself: You

I might just be inspired by the fact that I’ll be going to Kpop boy group BTS’s concert this September – and oh yes, I’m extremely excited about that!

Of course, the group’s latest album series is called Love Yourself, and that’s the theme of today’s post. How do we, as authors, learn to ‘love ourselves’ in such a competitive business and, really, in a society that looks first and foremost at outer appearance and achievements. How do we keep our head’s up?

In my opinion, Loving Yourself for an author – and really for anyone – means, at the heart of it, accepting yourself for who YOU are: foibles, ‘failures,’ and all.

Authors. Readers. Bloggers. Parents. Children. People. We are not perfect.

Such a simple truth. But for some of us, this truth is sometimes hard to wrap our heads around. We often get stuck in the Comparison Game. You know what I mean: comparing yourself to another peer, another author, another person. You might look at what someone else has and, in perceiving that to be better than what you have, start to think that you’re not good enough. It could be anything from career success to even family situations and looks! Worse still – other people can be telling you that you’re not good enough. We all fall into the trap. But while comparing oneself to others and seeing oneself as falling short might spur some onto self-improvement, what I’ve found is that for most, it’s a bottomless pit that crushes one’s self esteem – needlessly, might I add.

Because really, there will always be some way to negatively compare yourself to someone else on this Earth. And you know what the kicker is? No matter what you achieve in your life, one good (and by “good,” I mean “painful”) round of the Comparison Game can make all of that feel completely pointless and worthless. It happens to all of us.

Well, if you’ve ever felt that way, let me just tell you one thing. You are good enough. You reading this. You are good enough.

Yes, there are things that we can always improve about ourselves. But we also need to understand that we are individuals, and we need to be okay with the idea of not being exactly like someone else. Being you may not be enough for some people. But you must always make sure that being you is enough for you (that is of course, as long as you being ‘you’ isn’t hurting or exploiting someone else). Develop your own sense of self and while you endeavor to grow and improve, be proud of who YOU are first and foremost.

As a writer, as an author, or whatever your invocation is. You are you. And the fact that there is only one you in the world is something to be celebrated, not something to fear.

Personally, I think it’s better to love yourself and not care about what anyone else says, than it is to rush headfirst down the road of approval-seeking. So next time someone criticizes you, telling you that you don’t:

act like

look as good

dress as well

have the kind of personality

or have as many achievements

as someone else, here’s what you do. Look at that person right in their eyes. Smile very widely and say:

“Nope. I don’t. And yet? I’m still fly as hell.”

Because you are. Never let anyone crush you down. Look at what you’ve achieved. Look at who you are. And no matter what you endeavor to improve about yourself, always make sure to be proud of yourself first.

Be yourself.

Love yourself.

This inspirational author post is brought to you by our good friends Beyond the Scenes lol)!