The Body Is Not an Apology

When we talk about loving ourselves and our bodies, you might think that self-esteem has a big role to play. However, the kind of self-love that the author is talking about – radical self-love – isn’t the same as self-esteem.

We can look at radical self-love as a tropical island where self-esteem thrives. Rather than stopping at the shore of the radical self-love island, the self-esteem ship is pushed across the oceans by the winds of willpower and ego.

Continuing this analogy, such ideals of self-esteem can cause the ship to crash. Consider all the arrogant and selfish people around the world characterized as confident and highly pleased with themselves. Though they may have high self-esteem levels, they don’t necessarily epitomize love.

Take the current president of the United States, Donald J. Trump. From his behavior, he doesn’t appear to lack any self-confidence or self-esteem. But his ego, overconfidence and lack of loving ideals could lead the country into troubled waters.

And radical self-love is more than self-acceptance.

Think back to the times you merely accepted something. Were those moments particularly enjoyable or inspiring? Most likely not.

Taylor recalls a time when her mother used to pop frozen pot pies into the oven for dinner. Though she accepted the bland meal, she didn’t find it particularly thrilling or inspiring.

When it comes to treating ourselves with love and respect, we can do a lot better than self-acceptance. Over the coming blinks, you’ll find out how to better the attitudes you have toward yourself and others. This will be your first step toward radical self-love.