Forget Self-Love — Self-Awareness is the Real Superpower

You don’t need self-love, you need self-awareness and accountability.

Let me elaborate how self-love is killing your growth. 

Ask about the demerits of the Modi government to a bhakt (Modi lover); only if you are lucky, you might get to know one or two.

How does this change when you ask about the areas of improvement to someone who loves themselves? 

It doesn’t.

Imagine a girl who weighs 20 kgs more than her ideal body weight and feels embarrassed while hanging out with her peer group. She has two choices for self-talk:

1. “It’s okay. My feelings are valid; I am good this way and I love myself.” Even if a concerned friend points it out, she can shut them up and say, “I like the way I am. You are body shaming me.”
2. “I am good at A, B and C but my health needs attention. I need to lose weight and improve my overall health. I can do it and I will do it.”

This is the difference between Self-love and Self-awareness.

So why is this fad of self-love doing the rounds on all possible social media platforms?

Because telling people to put in effort and being accountable is hard becuse

1. Most people don’t receive it well.
2. And those who do, won’t sign up for an expensive course or come back to the next therapy session.

We don’t need Self-Love, we need Self-Awareness.

And this is true even for people who are too self-critical.

Self-love is delusional, Self- awareness is growth.