This comment by Todd on the post The Importance of Male Self-Love
Thank you for speaking truth that so desperately needs to be spoken to men – myself included. This is incredibly timely for me. So often, I seek to resolve feelings of self-doubt and unworthiness by exuding love to those around me, trying to take the focus off of myself and my shortcomings. But it really is a vicious cycle, because my extending no love, celebration or mercy to myself, I leave myself completely empty and unable to extend love toward others. It really does start with us. I love how, in those first few sentences of your article, you throw out those myths associated with “self-love.” So often, “self-love” is seen as a guy getting himself off and being self-absorbed and selfish. Not that getting himself off makes a guy less of a man or unworthy of love, but by changing the definition of self-love to that of believing we’re WORTHY of receiving love makes it all that more of a cyclical, positive motion of extending genuine love to others. As a guy, I need to celebrate my manhood and my identity and celebrate who I am, who I’ve become and who I have yet to become. By celebrating myself, I’m more able to celebrate others with genuine love.
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Let’s start a conversation:
Should boys be raised with unconditional love, support, affection–physical & emotional–from both parents and experience dad, specifically, emotional, loving and affectionate?
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