We have always come across quotes like "love yourself first" or put yourself first. But what does it really mean to love yourself?

It's not just about doing your skin care or spending time in the gym, working out to get into shape. Self-love is all about accepting yourself as you are. It's about valuing your emotions. We use kindness as a tag line for all our gestures. We most often sacrifice our lives to make others happy in the name of kindness and fail to live for ourselves. Living for yourself doesn't mean that you are selfish or self-centered. Instead, it means that you are being there for yourself. One should never feel guilty for choosing themselves over anyone else. When you start loving yourself, you'll eventually start respecting yourself, and this helps you to build your own standards. You are not supposed to be a people-pleaser in order to gain others' respect. Listen to yourself first and follow your intuition. Embrace yourself. Stand in front of the mirror and spend some time admiring your features. You're unique in some way or another. Don't let the idea of perfectionism ruin your life. To me, perfectionism is just a hallucination.

Research says that a person trying to be a perfectionist is the one who is at a higher risk of physical and mental illness. Give compliments to yourself once in a while. Appreciate and evaluate yourself. Change is good, but only when it doesn't have an impact on your overall wellness. When you start loving yourself, you'll be able to identify your toxic traits and leave them behind for your own good. Do you know that self-love can help you reduce stress and procrastinate less? It makes you more organised by helping you evaluate what is really important and what is not. And one of the greatest mistakes people quite often make is comparison. Let me tell you all, comparison isn't cool, even if you feel like it helps you grow. Not really! It can have the most negative influence on one's life. So stop doing it right away. What self-love basically does is helps you face the challenges in your life rather than hiding away from them, which in turn adds to your strengths and values. So leave behind all the negativity and start loving yourself wholeheartedly. I swear, it will help with your overall growth and well-being.

Robert Morley once said, "To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness."