Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine Self Love

(The point of this thread is really the last paragraph, so either skip there directly, or spend a minute reading about why I'm so great )


So... I'm riding in a mirrored elevator today, all alone, and I started to really take a look at my own reflection.

"You know," I thought, "you're not a bad looking dude." Almost immediately I starting thinking how narcissistic that was... then, after a moment I wondered why that was necessarily a bad thing.

Why on earth did the tradition start that pride or vanity is a "deadly sin" and humility such a virtue. As long as you're not selfish in your actions, I think a degree of vanity actually is a huge boost to one's confidence and, accordingly, the quality of your life. Too often I am, and I can only imagine most others are, hypercritical of ourselves, focusing on the things we don't like in our lives - our appearances, our personalities, our social interactions (even now I'm looking at this sentence and mentally criticizing its grammar).

But, if I were to take a step back and be absolutely honest, I have to say I probably like myself more now than I ever have in my life. I have a great relationship with my wife; I'm an awesome dog-owner; I'm really good at my job; I finally found a hairstyle that I think really works; and I'm able to - using clever double entendre thread titles - to lure you over to read about it.

St. Augustine called pride, "the love of one's own excellence." Along that line of thinking, I'm starting this thread as a place where you can explicitly sing your own praise.

What do you really love about yourself? Why are you excellent?

I really love myself in the shower sometimes. No stress, no mess.

'if you don't love yourself ... how the hell you gonna love anybody else'

i saw that on tv.

Also what matters is how hot others think you are, Ex.

And for the record: You're REALLY hot. Tell your wife I said she's a lucky lady! She better give you extra 's tonight!

Ram Boy, I would suggest not restricting your self-love to shower stalls. Love yourself everywhere, regardless of mess!

Anyway, it is true: can't love others til you love yourself... so I hope everyone practices self-love everyday.

Looking at this post a day later, I realize how pompous it sounds... but that's sort of the point.

What I was really getting at was a thread where you could indulge your own pride in yourself, in a way that might not be socially acceptable were you to say it at work, for instance.

Do you secretly think you're the best coach on your kid's baseball team? Do you think you're the snazziest dresser you know? Do you think that you could totally be the next American Idol if you just got the call?

In short... why are you awesome?

I think my artwork, specifically my collage work-- is effin' awesome.

So what if nobody shells out money for it. I'll be famous after I'm dead. So there!

Learning to love yourself, it is the greatest love of all!

<span style="font-size: 16px;">YES! A million times YES!</span>

(the fact that I do it on a BUDGET and without resorting to being a label whore makes it even more awesome...toot, toot)

I agree with you completely, Ex, though I should practice it more than I preach it sometimes. For awhile now I've been pretty down about my appearance since most of myself, I've been pretty confident in my looks and charm. Staying in shape is hard!

But on the other hand, I'm so damn happy about my wife, baby, dog and family life in general that I feel a ton of pride for it. And I'm incredibly good at my job with people from all over the world wanting to work with me. This year I'll probably make more money than I ever thought I would when I was 20 years old.

Plus, I figure I'm the be-all, end-all in decisions on what is 'good' or 'cool', so I assume people who agree with me are very smart with good taste and those that don't are probably lacking in areas of intelligence and good looks.

My parents raised my brother and I to believe that we can do *anything* we want because we are so smart and skilled and capable; even our good looks will add to our success. It was a great boost of self confidence to carry around for when we got out there and the rest of the world just wanted to knock us down and keep us down. I've overcome a LOT of adversity.

Along the way, I managed to surround myself with people who are there for me, and I'm there for them. Not only do I love myself, but I share that love. If you're my friend, I'm all in. I am ferociously dedicated to my family.

One of my new favorite things to do is to take self portraits and Photoshop them to make myself look Hollywood great, and use those images as my profile picture on Facebook. The title of that folder is "narcissism."

I am also my own worst critic, so I do have a sense of humility. I do NOT think I'm perfect!

I'm proud of how nice I am!

i'm Funny,i find myself to be very humorous and i think people are weird when they dont laugh at my jones

I think it's awesome when people are aware of both their successes and their failures.

We see people every day blaming their failures on forces beyond their control, other people, etc. but I find it every bit as troubling when I hear people refusing to give themselves credit for the amazing stuff they've accomplished. I think it's just as bad for your ego to deny yourself credit for the awesome, than it is to try and shift blame for the not-so-awesome, or come up with excuses for why you didn't mess something up.

In my experience, the people most likely to shift credit, or say they were lucky, or otherwise externalize their own successes, are the ones most likely to have a built in excuse to fail, since they aren't even acknowledging that they *can* accomplish something, let alone blaming the right person when they fall down.

We've got this George-Lucas-inspired rationale that some feelings are 'good' and others are 'bad.' Love is good, fear is bad, hope is good, anger is bad. Horsepucky. Sometimes it's *right* to be afraid. Some things *should* make you angry. And you don't have to look real far before you see people whose lives have been destroyed by obsessive love or unrealistic hope.

Every feeling has it's place, and when one takes it too far, can become toxic. Too much pride can lead to unrealistic notions of self (and general jerkishness towards others), while too little pride can lead to depression and feelings of worthlessness.

So, self-love is cool, in moderation.

Even the kind that Dr. Joyce Brothers' espoused.

Me? I'm a hard worker, a decent writer, terribly creative, occasionally hilarious, and spend every day trying to live by the values of a carpenter who died 2000ish years ago.

pictures!!!!

Here ya\' go. Out of date, but you can click on the thumbnails and cruise around if you wanna', Power Seid.



I'm hoping to have more current stuff available for viewing sometime next year.

I don't practice self love.

I've pretty much perfected it.


A little beer, some Gretchen Wilson on the stereo...um, have I said to much?

You did all those? They are funky cool!

ditto that!

I think I am good in being patient and slow to anger, trying not to be judgemental. I would say that I am pretty intelligent, funny, and good looking. Plus lately I can fart up a storm.

well, you do live in beantown.

I think I have many good points, but I really hate to toot my own horn. I can admit them to myself, and that's (usually) enough for me, in terms of self-validation.

holy ...


these are fantastic!!!



thanks, i'm going to spend time browsing through them now.

They really are, Cle.

Well, since I don't want to ruin Exnihil's thread, I'll eschew my usual aw-shucks manner and say that you guys are absolutely right. I put a huge amount of work into those damn pictures, and it's high time that they got the adoration they deserve.



Also, the newer ones are even better, so I'll let you know when they're up.

Me...average looking...overweight, but not obesely. Hair is nothing to look at...literally.

What I am though, is a good dad. That's enough.

Wonderful art, cleome!

I was just called on and asked to do something for church tomorrow. I think I'm most proud of the fact that I'm willing to say yes and help someone in need. I think it's a privilege that others feel comfortable calling me and asking me to help.

I'm open-minded and dedicated to doing the best job I can. This usually involves writing or teaching writing. I want to give my students something that will be useful them, not only in their academic careers but in their lives beyond college. I want to create a fun and engaging learning environment which can put them on the path to discovering who they truly are and what their own gifts are.

I take writing and teaching very seriously; myself, not so much.