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COVER STORY
It’s all about loving yourself - Why self-love is the best type of love
Admiring yourself doesn’t mean you believe you’re the cleverest, most talented, and most beautiful person in the world. Rather, when you love yourself and you accept your so-called flaws and appreciate these so-called faults as something that makes you who you are. When you love yourself you have kindness for yourself. We asked some of the cities favourites on how they reaffirm themselves with self-love.
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In a candid conversation with Kajal Aggarwal. An impeccable actor who has done many movies in Indian cinema. Everyone loves her for the roles she has done in the movies Magadheera being one of the blockbuster hits among them.
Q. What is your take on self love? Many people mistakenly believe that self-love is the same as narcissism, or having a big ego. It’s not. Self-love means having a high regard for your own well-being and happiness. Self-love means taking care of your own needs and not sacrificing your well-being to please others. Selflove means not settling for less than you deserve. Loving yourself doesn’t mean you think you’re the smartest, most talented, and most beautiful person in the world. Instead, when you love yourself you accept your so-called weaknesses, appreciate these so-called shortcomings as something that makes you who you are. When you love yourself you have compassion for yourself. You take care of yourself like you’d take care of a friend in distress. You treat yourself kindly. You don’t nitpick and criticize yourself. Self-love isn’t about instant gratification. A new pair of shoes or eating an entire pizza might make you feel good in the moment, but the feeling isn’t lasting–and could be damaging in the long run. Self-love means giving yourself what your body, brain, and soul needs for the marathon that is life. It isn’t hedonism and it isn’t chasing a physical or emotional high. The practice of self-love is the practice of nourishing yourself.
Q. Tell us something that you love and are proud of about yourself? Hard work, consistency, discipline in lifestyle, strength of mind, constant determination and most importantly kindness towards all are qualities I put my best effort and practice towards.
Q. How can one learn to embrace their flaws? Embracing your flaws is not easy and cannot happen overnight. It takes tremendous patience and constant work. Self acceptance is definitely the most gratifying gift you can give yourself and consequently strengthen bonds with others as well.
Q. How do you seek comfort when you feel low? Invest in good habits, good friends, and productive utilisation of your time, learn to develop constructive skill and make it a habit to spend time nourishing your soul with a spiritual practice of any kind that you can connect to.
“I grew up with a lot of insecurities and complexes as a child and teenager coming from a broken home and family..... What really helped me to develop a deep understanding of myself was to listen to my inner voice and trust my instinct..... We usually tend to ignore our gut feelings but I learnt to listen to them and believe that the power lay within.... I believed in putting positive thoughts into the universe and I saw them manifest into reality.... We are the sum of our thoughts and feelings.... We are the universe..... Aham Brahmasmi”, Asmita Marwa, Fashion Designer & Artist.
Me-Time’ is absolutely essential for me, it gives me time to reflect on my actions and thoughts. It clears my mind and helps me relax. I’m usually always surrounded by family, friends or work, the only time I get for myself is when I work out, I call that my ‘favourite hour’, I put my headphones on and I’m gone for the world. It’s crucial that one makes time for themselves, sometimes the best advice comes from within. Qutub Alam Khan (Managing partner - Chicha’s Restaurant)
We often get so busy with our lives, it almost is like we need to remind ourselves that we come first and need to look after ourselves. For the most part, taking time out for myself came to me naturally, be it going to the gym and investing time in getting fit or eating healthy and sleeping well. The pandemic did change the way our lives function and suddenly it felt like we had all this time to see how we really are spending our time and how much of it is really dedicated to ourselves. Owing to the pandemic, I have become careful and diligent towards how I look after myself physically and mentally. I have paid attention to what makes me feel good and now I just ensure I give myself the time and care it needs to feel rejuvenated and mentally peaceful every day. Starting with working out, I used to enjoy going to the gym every day, so even during the lockdown, I signed up for classes and take an hour or so out to do that. I used to binge while watching TV shows which really made me feel terrible after, so now I practise mindful eating and spending that time in changing that habit has helped me a lot. I have made it to a point to learn a new language and read every day. I get motivated when I learn something new or read a good book. I guess for me work takes up a lot of time but I haven’t let that eat into my personal time and having that love for yourself to take a couple of hours of “me time” makes a massive difference in how you feel mentally and physically. The mantra is to just spend time with yourself to really get to know what makes you feel good! Sruthi Reddy (Growth Marketing Manager @ColorTokens-Ex-ISB class of 2020)
My idea of self-love clearly define the love u share n care wit others, that is what gives me a relax n self-satisfaction feeling of how imp is to stand by someone who needs you doing good for others is not a duty, it’s a joy it increases our own health and happiness..so this is my Idea of relaxation. Hamed Saberi (Founder Managing Director, NUMI Paris)
Self-love is about all taking care of oneself - physically, mentally and emotionally. Meditation, Yoga and Pranayama works miracles on one’s body. It heals us and helps us process our thoughts and emotions better, teaches us to be mindful and improves our overall well-being. I practise a combination of all three and it has helped me get through this difficult time. Selfcare is about doing what we need to do to make our lives better every day Vaishnavi Mereddy (Wingo Creative Agency/Mereddy Ventures)
“The word self-love has such a deep meaning to it, It’s all about loving oneself without caring what the world thinks of you.when u get up and see yourself in the mirror you should love what you see, which matter of the fact I do. I believe in positive energy a lot So I try being with people who emit it and kind of avoid negative people in my life. I love singing and dancing have been doing it since childhood learned Hindustani classical music and dance. Have choreographed dances in school and for television. When I feel low just put on music and dance. I have done Shamik shows as well. I love the time I spend doing things for my kids and hubby. Love our chillout time making food together in the kitchen to watch our favourite shows. My meditation is soulful music. I am a big fan of Sufi music and hum along once I get a chance. My favourite mantra in life is a song by Tom Cochrane goes Life is a high way I want to ride it all night long but if you going my way I wanna drive it all night long.” Rummy Azad Mahendra (BDS, MDS Prosthodontics)
