8 Benefits of Self-Love: Why Is Self-Love Important?

Hot take: most of us don’t know how to love ourselves.

I remember spending years trying to find actual, practical ways to love myself and coming across common, not-so-applicable advice to my situation.

From saying affirmations in the mirror to putting a face mask on—I’ve done it all.

The problem doesn’t lie in one or two of these things. Most of them can actually do a pretty great job at making you feel cared for, beautiful, and more confident. But they are not enough to help you love yourself.

In order to learn to love yourself unconditionally you need to first understand why it’s important and remember that next time you start doubting yourself or don’t have the willpower to push through the difficulties when it comes to practicing self-love.

Today, I want to share the 8 benefits of self-love that will transform your life. These aren’t just nice ideas—they’re real, tangible benefits that you’ll start noticing almost immediately once you commit to loving yourself.

Ready? Let’s dive in.

1. Self-Love Makes You Self-Sufficient

When you love yourself, you can meet your needs on your own, which makes you self-sufficient.

You don’t need other people’s approval or validation to feel good about yourself. You know what you bring to the table and you know that no matter what happens, you’re going to be okay.

Being self-sufficient is all about recognizing what you need, figuring out a way to meet that need, and fulfilling your needs on your own.

The best part about being self-sufficient is that you can enjoy other people’s company without relying on them to take care of you or demanding constant attention or validation.

If looking for external ways to validate yourself is something you’ve been struggling with, you will find this video very helpful:

2. Self-Love Helps You Regulate Your Emotions

When you love yourself, you accept yourself as you are, and that also applies to all of your emotions.

Practicing self-love is directly linked to self-compassion and self-kindness. When you love yourself, you’re kind and compassionate, considerate and patient with yourself.

No matter what emotion you feel, whether it’s sadness, anger, or anything else, when you love yourself, you know that it’s okay to feel this emotion and it doesn’t define you.

It’s just a fleeting emotion that won’t be there for long. The thing is, self-love helps with your resistance towards your own feelings. When you love yourself, you stop resisting them.

You’re there for yourself when you need it the most. You honor your feelings and let them come to the surface. And you know that it’s okay to feel, and it’s a natural part of your human experience.

But what if you couldn’t form a strong emotional bond with your parents or primary caretakers? What if you lived in an unstable environment growing up? What if you thought you were unloveable?

If this was the case for you, you might have an insecure attachment style.

If you want to find what yours is and receive specific advice tailored to your attachment style, take this free 1-minute quiz:

3. Self-Love Is The Foundation For Self-Trust

You can’t trust yourself if you don’t love yourself. This may not seem that obvious, but when we dig deeper, lack of self-trust is directly linked to a negative story you keep telling yourself over and over again.

You often don’t trust yourself because you don’t keep the promises you make to yourself. And that’s a sign you don’t know how to love yourself.

Your relationship with yourself, like any other relationship, takes time, energy, and the commitment to constantly show up for that person.

When it comes to self-love, you need to show up for yourself. Show yourself that you’re worthy of love, you deserve to be treated with respect, and that directly reflects how much you trust yourself.

The more you practice self-love, the stronger your self-trust muscle will become. And in time, you’ll know that there is nothing you can trust more than your own intuition. You just need to learn how to listen.

If you have trouble connecting with yourself, you need to discover the 5 self-love mistakes that you might be currently making:

4. Self-Love Builds Resilience

When you love yourself, you feel centered, aligned, strong, and capable. You’re more adapt to changes and you develop grit.

How is self-love linked to building resilience? 

Well, loving yourself is a bulletproof way to handle life’s challenges without letting them break you. And the reason for that is very simple: you know that you can count on yourself.

You’re going to be there for yourself, no matter what. You become stronger and stronger, no matter what life throws at you, because you know you have yourself.

And that’s a truly powerful thing to realize. That no matter what anyone thinks of you, no matter who comes and goes in your life, there’s one person you can rely on always being there for you, and that is yourself.

5. Self-Love Helps You Make Better Decisions

When you love yourself, you make healthier choices, and it all comes naturally to you. You prefer to treat yourself with respect, you don’t want to harm your body, and you’re doing the best that you can to make better decisions that your future self would thank you for.

Self-love helps you choose things that are good for you. When you love and respect yourself, you know that you deserve it. You’re not fighting your demons, you accept them as part of you, and let them go as part of the process.

What you don’t do is shame yourself if you make a mistake. Because self-love is also about self-forgiveness. If you slip and make a bad decision, you know that it doesn’t make you a bad person.

And part of making better decisions is realizing that we all make bad decisions sometimes. What matters is to learn from them and make better choices over time.

6. Self-Love Helps You Develop Self-Confidence

How is self-love linked to self-confidence? True confidence comes from knowing your worth, communicating it clearly to others, and creating a life you won’t need an escape from.

When you don’t love yourself, you can’t do any of those things. Knowing your worth means appreciating yourself, valuing yourself as a human being, which means you love and respect yourself as you are.

Loving yourself is such a powerful motivator to show up unapologetically. When you love yourself, you don’t care about other people’s perceptions of you. You know exactly who you are and exactly where you stand.

And that’s crucial when it comes to being self-confident. 

By the way, if you want to dive deeper into the topic of building unshakeable self-confidence, check out my video on how to build self-confidence as a woman:

7. Self-Love Impacts Your Quality Of Life

When you love yourself, that has a direct impact on your physical and mental health, and even life fulfillment. Loving yourself lowers your stress, helps reduce your anxiety, and leads to being more fulfilled in general.

Your entire quality of life is transformed. When you become your number one priority, you take better care of yourself, you put yourself first, and know that your needs are important and you have every right to be good to yourself.

Self-love is important because without it, any other aspect of your life will suffer. That’s why I created The Self-Love Toolkit: my proven step-by-step system that will help you learn to love yourself, unconditionally.

If you want to learn how to become your number one priority in just 15 minutes per day, this is the solution for you:

8. Self-Love Improves All Other Relationships In Your Life

The best part about self-love is that it also impacts your relationships in a positive way. When you love yourself, you radiate kindness and warmth, and other people are drawn to you.

You are joyful, playful, and peaceful. Your cup is full. Which means you can give to others generously. You have the mental capacity and energy to be there for others, because you’re there for yourself.

When you’re being kind to yourself, you can be a better spouse, parent, or friend. You can show up when others need you without wanting anything in return.

That’s the beauty of self-love. It transforms your relationships and helps them blossom. You don’t let toxic people into your life anymore, you start setting healthy boundaries, and cultivating better relationships because you know you deserve to be treated with love and respect.

If you’re looking for the first step to start your self-love journey, I recommend trying out these amazing 15 self-love exercises:

Love,