Why Is Self-Love Important?

Loving oneself is not the same as being self-absorbed and/or narcissistic. It's actually quite the opposite.

It’s the type of love that speaks to how you feel about yourself -- how worthy you feel, how you value and respect yourself.

In my practice for over forty years, I find this to be one of the major issues for individuals. They may enter therapy presenting themselves with issues unrelated to self-love, but more often than not, those issues have developed due to a lack of self-love.

Here are five questions to ask yourself to determine if you lack self-love:

1. Do you believe you are equally worthy as everyone else?

2. Do you value yourself to the degree that you feel comfortable in your own skin?

3. Are your expectations for yourself high enough?

4. Do you believe you are deserving of happiness?

5. Do you like yourself and feel good about who you are?

I am sure you can add to this list, but just answering these five questions may help you take a closer look at yourself. If you weren’t able to answer these questions in the affirmative, realize that you have some work to do; work that can only benefit you, your relationships and your overall success as a person.

Remember you can’t give what you don’t possess, so if you don’t love yourself, how can you successfully love another?