Self-Love Standard

You are the only person who is with you during every moment of every day. You are the only person inside your mind. You are the only person feeling the exact same way as you are with the exact same set of experiences. This idea of individuality isn’t a new idea, you are one of one. How you view yourself is important and if you care about yourself, you should elevate your opinion of what self-love should be. The truest, purest form of self-love is holding yourself to a higher standard than anybody else.

By holding yourself to a higher standard than anyone else, you become your own biggest champion. You don’t just earn every win and moment of success, you fully feel them because you know how hard you had to work for them. Living to a standard is not a confining way of life, it’s the only way to live that brings you to your highest level of being. You feel the losses more when you have a high standard you feel to reach. Instead of shrugging off any failure, loss, or inability, these shortcomings ignite the embers inside of you to continue climbing the ladder of improvement. Without this standard of self-love, you will accept that things could be too hard or impossible or not worth it. The self-love standard removes the “can’t” in your life and replaces it with a “can’t right now.” Loving yourself to the highest standard elevates your life to a life of constant iteration and improvement. Nothing confines you because the freedom of infinite possibility takes control.

Elevating your expectation for self-love inherently changes your mindset for how those in close relationships with you respond. When you love yourself in the most demanding way, a way that warrants effort and accomplishment, pity from others is the last thing you want. When you fail or struggle, because you undoubtedly will, the worst thing someone can do is pat you on the back and tell you it’s okay because you are still working hard. You don’t want their pity. You want their support in a real way. You want a reality check. You want those close to you to acknowledge that what you are going through is tough but also remind you that you are tougher. You want a support group that sees your life the same way you do. You want a support group that offers love and encouragement to the same standard you love yourself. By loving yourself to the highest of standards, your relationships will naturally morph to support you in the way you support yourself. The pity will dissipate and the real support will emerge.

Loving yourself to the highest standard is a personal choice and commitment. It’s a personal choice to not accept a monotonous and easy life and instead pursue a life of learning, determination, and focused effort. It’s a commitment to never falter and cave to lower expectations for yourself. Love is love, hold yourself to the standard.