The hardest thing you will ever learn to do is love yourself. It’s so much easier to be a pessimist, a cynic, a downer.
It’s easier to beat yourself up over the things you’ve done wrong than it is to take a step back and accept you’re flawed, but there is beauty in those flaws. There is hope in recognition of those flaws.
It’s much easier to chalk your heartache up to you not being good enough, to you making some sort of unforgivable mistake, than it is to admit that some things are beyond your control. Some loves aren’t meant to last. Some people aren’t meant to stay connected. Some relationships don’t have closure. Some pains don’t have a reasonable explanation.
It’s so much easier to hate everyone — including yourself — than it is to forgive, to see the good in people, to lead with your soft heart.
It’s so much easier to lose faith in yourself than it is to believe you have what it takes to succeed, to reach a place of fulfillment, to live your own version of happily ever after.
It’s so much easier to let yourself fall apart than it is to piece yourself back together again, to pull yourself off the ground, to feel whole. Complete. At peace.
It’s so much easier to complain about how you are the way you are because someone hurt you in the past than it is to recognize you have toxic traits, admit you need to make changes, and get your shit together.
It’s so much easier to mope around all day, listening to sad music and reading through old texts, than it is to move on from your heartache, accept your old loves are in the past, and search for someone new who would never do you wrong.
It’s so much easier to look at yourself in the mirror and pick apart the things you hate about yourself than it is to search for aspects you admire, aspects that make you beautiful inside and out.
It’s so much easier to complain about how difficult things are for you and how the entire world is against you than it is to find a semblance of good in your situation.
It’s so much easier to cancel plans than it is to follow through on them. It’s easier to break promises than to keep promises. It’s easier to disappoint yourself than to impress yourself.
It’s so much easier to come up with excuses about why you aren’t going to do something good for yourself than it is to actively try to better yourself, better your situation, better your future.
It’s so much harder to love yourself than it is to hate yourself. That’s why, even if you’re at the beginning of your self-love journey, you should be proud of yourself. You should consider yourself strong. You should recognize how much energy it requires to even take that first step.
You might not love yourself fully yet, but you’re putting in the effort, and that’s all that matters in this moment. 
