A Year of Self Love: Daily Wisdom and Inspiration for Loving Yourself (A Year of Daily Reflections)

by Troy L. Love

I can love others, even if I don’t love myself. But the problem is, if they try to love me back, I will dismiss it, reject it, or push it away until they get tired of trying to convince me that I am worthy of their love, and then I will have the evidence that I am unlovable.

I learned that loving myself means believing I am worthy of love and belonging. It means that I am willing to develop my talents and abilities, because I recognize that I have them and love myself for having them. Loving myself means that I am willing to be vulnerable and open, because I know I deserve all that I stand to gain from being vulnerable and open. And loving myself also means that I am willing to have boundaries and say no, because we naturally want to stand up for and protect the ones we love, ourselves included.

Loving ourselves is not selfish. Loving ourselves is an essential element of being able to love others. Loving ourselves means that we have developed resiliency to the shadows of shame that whisper to us, You are not enough. Loving ourselves means that we can be authentically kind to others without a mask. We are not pretending or hustling, nor are we shutting people out. We are standing in our own light and sharing that with others. Loving ourselves means that we acknowledge we are not perfect, and we are gentle with ourselves. You are likely aware that we tend to be harder on ourselves than we are on anyone else. When we practice loving-kindness toward ourselves, a miracle happens: We stop being so judgmental of ourselves, and, in turn, we’re also less judgmental of others.

us. Loving ourselves allows us to show up in the world so we can love others, uplift others, and make the world a more loving place.

These attachment wounds fall into six main categories: loss, rejection, neglect, betrayal, abandonment, and abuse.

Love and connection are the only ways I have found to heal these wounds.

The good news is that you are not your shadows. You are a being of light. You are worthy of love. And to help you stand in that light, this book gives you daily quotes, tips, activities, or meditations. You are worth the effort. If you feel like you are not succeeding, that’s a perfect opportunity to practice loving yourself in that very moment. May you find greater peace and love through this experience. May you discover the truth: You are worth loving.