Aristotle’s Self–Love Philosophy Can Change Your Life
Embarking on your self-love journey leads to more happiness for you and those in your life.
Why Your Self-Love Journey Matters For You and Those Around You
Starting your self-love journey can be intimidating. You see all the gurus, influencers, and even your friends talking more about their self-love journey, but you don’t know where to start or why you should even start. It seems almost selfish to even consider a self-love journey, but that’s almost entirely the opposite of the truth. Having strong self-love for yourself impacts you positively and impacts your direct relationship with others. Let’s take a deeper look into how you can cultivate self-love, but first, let’s discuss what self-love is?
What is self-love, and how does it look?
According to PsychCentral, “self-love means accepting yourself fully, treating yourself with kindness and respect, and nurturing your growth and well-being. Self-love pushes you into a healthier relationship with yourself, which will then translate over into how you treat and love others. Self-love encompasses how you treat yourself and your thoughts and feelings about yourself…You have an overall positive view of yourself when you love yourself.”
In practice, starting with simple shifts in your thought pattern to encourage yourself, forgive yourself for previous mistakes, and speak positively to yourself are important aspects as you build your self-love. All of these happen once you embark on a self-love journey.
Who Should Embark On a Self–Love Journey?
It’s important to assess your true reasons for embarking on your self-love journey. According to Aristotle’s self-love philosophy, “The good person ought to be a lover of self since he will then benefit himself by acting nobly and aide his fellows, but the bad person shouldn’t be a lover of self since he will follow his base passions and injure both himself and his neighbor.” If you consider yourself a virtuous person (someone who knows what good is and your conduct is guided by the interests of your friends and your country), then you should take the time to go on a self-love journey.
Aristotle’s self-love philosophy also explains the deep need for love that we have in our lives. “According to Plato and Aristotle, love is not only necessary for true happiness, but the most important aspect of it. It not only fills a deep longing in the human soul but grants gifts that allow those who receive them to live their lives to the fullest potential.”
Attaining love from friendships and other people meet this deep desire that we have for love, but the one person you will always have is yourself. Growing in love on your self-love journey affirms you as a person and helps you no matter what happens in your outside relationships.
Self-Love Journey Benefits
As you grow in self-love, you’ll learn how to become best friends with yourself, enjoy the quality time you spend alone and want good for yourself. Through this, you’ll be able to participate in the virtue of love philosophy that helps you contribute meaningfully to your community.
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