Brighten Your Day

True self-love is not selfish pleasure, but rather the origin of discipline and willpower. Self-love is not giving yourself everything you want, but rather giving yourself the things that are good for you. Spending the weekend eating pizza and watching movies can feel great, but that is not self-love. Self-love is discipline. It says, “You may not like this, but the future You will want to start this.” If we simply do whatever we want, it is akin to letting a toddler run wild and be spoiled. The parent of a spoiled toddler gives the kid everything they want, and the parent believes they are loving the kid, but their actions are not loving. The kid needs guidance. The kid is chasing pleasure first, and as a consequence, is not acting in their best long-term interests. If a parent guides and directs a toddler, and the toddler grows up into a mature, responsible person, the parent acted in a loving way. Self-love is being the second parent to yourself, because we have a tendency to behave like the spoiled toddler at times. Self-love is knowing what needs done and doing it anyway. Self-love brings actions into your life that you don’t regret later. When we allow true self-love to guide our actions, it naturally increases our willpower to resist temptations that appeal to the spoiled toddler in all of us. Self-love is looking out for yourself, not in a selfish way, but in a healthy way. Once we develop this discipline, we can use it in all sorts of life areas, like going to bed early, keeping up with physical activities, saying no to junk food, dedicating time to read and learn, and so much more. Quell the spoiled toddler, become the correct parent of your own mind.