What makes you love yourself?

Well it's a fact for those who know me that I can be a little clingy sometimes. When I was younger I basically liked anyone who was nice to me. And the reason for that is because I had low self esteem at the time (I still kinda do) and I thought no one liked me due to the fact that I was hard of hearing (still am) and had a hump on my back (from scoliosis). So there was a lot of things I didn't like about myself. So anyone who showed any amount of kindness to me, I took a liking to. This made me lose a friend in middle school which was very painful but I'm over it now. I was pretty much lonely for a long time. But then I got into writing and reading and I found out that I enjoyed roleplaying online. So I joined a few groups and people actually like my writing and skills, and that did help my self esteem a great deal. Honestly if it wasn't for my creativity I probably still wouldn't like myself very much.

 

I feel one of the best ways to start loving yourself is to first really self reflect and understand who you are, what you like, what you want, and set goals to achieve those wants. Really get to know and understand what you want out of life and out of yourself. Set goals to reach and actually work hard to reach them. You'll be surprised how much self pride you have when you reach your own goals.

Like natec7 said, explore some new hobbies and indulge them. Learn more about what you're capable of and push your own limits. You'll be surprised what you may find. Growing your own skills and finding new ones helps to show you that you are a capable person. One example is learning to Cook and feed your family/friends! Takes a lot of practice and failing but you grow a talent that helps build relationships. Indulge your existing talents and branch out to find new ones

I know it sounds counter intuitive but also try not to worry so much about what other people think. Often self image is affected but the perceptions other have of us. Try to disregard and ignore that negativity- the most important relationship you can have is with yourself. Try not to be afraid of being alone because it is in your own company that self esteem grows. Rarely can anyone else give you self esteem- you have to grow and nurture it yourself.

 

This. Especially that last paragraph. I find myself always talking bad about myself; I realize half the time it's because I really think I'm ugly or insignificant or something and I want to hear people tell me I'm not. Confidence is a very attractive quality to people. No one is going to think you are a catch unless you think it first - something I'm starting to learn. I think it's about looking at yourself and finding all the positives and trying to focus less on the negatives.