As a wise woman once said to me, “The greatest relationship we can have is with ourselves.” Those were my mother’s final words of advice to me as I walked out of the front door and into a boy’s car, ready to go on the first date of my teenage life. Little did I know that those 9 words would be the ones that I would repeat to myself almost every night for the years to come.
As I grew older and went out on more dates, fell in and out of love, and endured both decent and rough breakups, my mother’s words kept me grounded. I suppose one of the reasons as to why people venture out into the world in search of love and a partner is to find their other half–the Yin to their Yang, or the Ross to their Rachel–and to find happiness. Finding a significant other who makes you happy is an important qualification for a partner, however, I have learned that true happiness comes from within and, as per my mom’s advice, the most important relationship that you will have is with yourself. After all, YOU are the one that will guide yourself to success and happiness.
In order to be the best person you can be both for yourself and for your partner and be truly happy in a relationship, you need to have a healthy relationship with yourself first. Having a positive and caring relationship with yourself is key to having a high level of self-esteem and to being as confident as we all aspire to be. Believe me, confidence really does radiate from within! These things will empower you and allow you to be the best that you can be. Caring for and loving yourself will help you find happiness on your own outside of a relationship, because you’ll see that you don’t always need someone else to make you feel special or cared for when you will always have your own back no matter what. Once you’ve established a constructive relationship with yourself, the relationships and bonds you form with other people will in turn be healthy and positive.
Developing a strong relationship with yourself is actually easier than it seems if you pay attention and listen to your inner thoughts. Want to work on your confidence? Compliment yourself once in a while and buy that eye-catching bold dress that shows off your figure! Feeling lost? Take some me-time and go for a nature walk and reflect on things or enjoy your favourite snack on a park swing! Do the things that make you feel happy- read, knit, jam out in your room, draw, write, or whatever it may be. Take care of yourself and love yourself, and you will naturally bring people with the same positive energy into your life.
So, I leave you with two things to take away from this: love you, and be the kind of person you want to attract.