“There’s a difference between self-care and selfishness”

Self-love is a new concept to us. A lot of us still don’t understand what it is as we have grown up in a patriarchal society where the focus has never been on individual identity.

There’s a difference between self-care and selfishness. Self-love isn’t about yourself but also the community and spending time with people you love.

At this point of time, it is a radical thing that exists only on the internet as a fancy term. That’s because it’s difficult to grow out of our conditioning. So much of our understanding of ourselves comes from conditioning. And how do we love ourselves if we aren’t comfortable in our bodies? How do you talk about self-love in a corporate environment where every ounce of your efficiency is commodified? Being able to have a conversation about taking time off due to mental health is more important than the spa coupon your HR gives you for some ‘me-time’.

Self-love isn’t about commodities that will make us feel better for a brief while. It’s about making essential changes to life and choosing paths that are better for our mental health and peace of mind. It’s about making tough decisions which may seem painful but will be helpful for your mental health and peace of mind in the long run.

“WE ACTUALLY NEED TO LEARN TO HATE OUR PRIDE, EGO, OUR JUDGING OF OTHERS AND THE FACT THAT WE CAN EASILY DESTROY SOMEONE ELSE’S LIFE” —WILLIAM RICHMOND BASAIAWMOIT

“SELF-LOVE ISN’T ABOUT YOURSELF BUT THE COMMUNITY AND SPENDING TIME WITH PEOPLE YOU LOVE.” — NIKHIL TANEJA

Nikhil Taneja is the co-founder and CEO of a youth media company, Yuvaa.