How Learning To Love Yourself Can Build Better Romantic Relationships
One of the great things about being in a romantic relationship or marriage and knowing that someone is unconditionally in love with you is that it makes you feel wonderful about yourself. You see, healthy romantic relationships have a way of starting an amazing, unstoppable cycle: the more you fall in love with someone, the better you feel about yourself . . . and the better you feel about yourself, the more you are able to love your wife, husband, boyfriend or girlfriend.
The old cliché about “love thyself” is one of the best romantic ideas a person can use to build a better, more loving relationship. I’m not taking about vain or conceited self-love; that type of mirror-gazing doesn’t bring much to a romantic relationship. But feeling good about yourself, and being proud of yourself and the things you do, is one of the first steps we take in nurturing a healthy romance with another person.
We often discover wonderful things about ourselves when we’re in love and are able to look through our lover’s eyes. Just like hearing your own voice for the first time on a recording, seeing yourself through your romantic partner’s eyes can be a surprising event. You may be initially skeptical to discover the reasons why your significant other loves you. You mean they love that about me? And they’re proud of me for what?
Yes, it’s true! Your boyfriend, girlfriend, wife or husband really is in love with you because of many qualities that you don’t like about yourself or that you may have overlooked. And finding out what those things are might just help you appreciate those qualities in yourself, too.
Discovering the reasons why your sweetheart loves you can be a humbling, eye-opening experience that can help you appreciate your own good qualities even more. And by learning to appreciate your own good qualities, you’ll be better able to give your lover more of what they love about you.
So if you haven’t told your romantic partner what it is you love about them, today is the day to do it. It just might help them appreciate good qualities about themselves that they didn’t realize they had.
And be sure to ask your lover, in return, to tell you what it is they love about you. You’ll be amazed at how learning to love yourself more can improve your romantic relationship.