"Know that I'm here for you, whenever you need me," I told a friend who was going through a hard time. I was also going through a hard time that day. Yet, it was so easier to let my friend know that I would be there for them than it was to let myself know that I am also there for myself.

Lately, I've been noticing the dichotomy between the way I treat others and the way I treat myself. I treat others with so much love, yet struggle to show up for myself when it comes to self-love. While I don't hate myself, I still struggle with loving myself unconditionally.

Why am I this way? Why are so many people this way?

Perhaps, we as human beings find it easier to love others in our lives than ourselves. At least for me, this is the case. For some reason, it is so easy for me to treat others with compassion. Yet, when it comes to myself, I'm fine treating myself with negligence. When I began to understand this, it was one of the most heartbreaking realizations ever. As I started to observe to lack of love I gave to myself, I noticed how much it was affecting the quality of my life. I found it harder to take care of myself, prioritize my mental health, and allow myself to enjoy the present moment when I didn't give myself love.

The lack of love I was giving myself was negatively affecting the quality of my life. So, I understood that to improve the quality of my life, I need to give love to myself.

So, I am making the conscious decision to let go of the habit I have in denying myself love. Below is the path on how I am planning to start embracing self-love.

First, I am going to observe all the thoughts in my head that I once let play in the background and didn't pay enough attention to. I will identify all the thoughts that don't resonate with the energy of self-love and choose to no longer identify with them. When I observe certain negative thoughts, I want to actively remind myself of positive thoughts. For example, if I hear my mind saying "I am unworthy of the good things life has to offer," I will gently tell myself, "I am worthy of all the good that life has to give me."

Second, I am going to write love letters to myself. When I first heard about this self-love practice, I was so aversed to it. This illustrated that I need to do this even more. My resistance to write love letters to myself shows that I need to do it even more to increase the compassion I have for myself. The part of me that is resisting is the part that doesn't want me to love myself.

Third, I am going to give more time for myself to rest. I am not a machine that is meant to simply get work done. I am a human being. Thus, I deserve to also give myself love in the form of letting myself find rest.

Fourth, I am going to going to learn to be my own best friend. I am starting to remember how incredibly precious I am. Somewhere along the way, I had forgotten. But now, I am remembering how beautiful it is to treat myself in the same way I would treat a best friend.

Whenever my friends are going through hard times, I tell them, "Know that I'm here for you, whenever you need me."

Now, I am beginning to tell myself, "Know that I'm here for you, whenever you need me." What a beautiful feeling: me starting to be there for myself. The very fact that I am deciding to love myself more is a form of self-love. Learning to love myself is such a beautiful, exciting process. It's like falling in love, except the person is me. Every day, as I prioritize self-love, I prioritize my growth. What a beautiful process of learning to value myself again.

So, if you find yourself struggling with self-love, I hope this article helps you in some way. Never forget how worthy of love you are. The very act of you wanting to love yourself more is a form of self-love. Now it's about building off this foundation.