I Dare You To Not Love Yourself Today

I dare you to face your mirror, and not look at that incredible human staring back at you, with an endless ocean of love and appreciation.

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woman wearing blue denim jacket near trees
Tyler Nix / Unsplash

I dare you to wake up in the morning, wrapped up in the comfort of your duvet, and wish you were waking up as someone else. To deny all of the beauty and abundance in your world today, and to focus on all that you’re not, instead of all that you are.

I dare you to face your mirror, and not look at that incredible human staring back at you, with an endless ocean of love and appreciation. And I dare you to not find one fragment of fabulousness or grace.

I dare you to dig up those old wounds that still cut deep; those fears and insecurities that you buried within long ago; and allow your inner mean-girl to rule your head today. I dare you to indulge her cruelty, and not find the courage and strength to stand up tall and fight. To not tell her she won’t win this battle today. To not expose her to the light, and leave her to burn in a rage of flames.

I dare you to hold your head in your hands, salty rivers of tears streaming down your cheeks, and not be okay in time. I dare you to allow life and its constant suffering consume you, and not find one reason to just keep going. I dare you to wallow in self-pity, and not take an ounce of responsibility for your own happiness in this life.

I dare you to go to sleep next to someone who doesn’t truly love or respect you, and not feel that sinking feeling in your heart. I dare you to stay with someone who doesn’t treat you the way you deserve, and not pack your bagspick up and leave.

I dare you not to believe you deserve worlds better.

I dare you to look at those fake plastic bodies you see on TV, those airbrushed faces in magazines, and those ridiculous, fabricated porn scenes flooding the internet, and not laugh out loud at the crazy state of our world today. I dare you to not question the images thrust in your face. I dare you to allow those evil powers at work win and make you look inwards, and question yourself instead.

I dare you to determine your worth by your cup size, by your relationship status, or by the color of your skin.

Go on, I dare you.

I dare you to buy those new boobs, to grab the nearest stranger just so you don’t have to sit with yourself and to slather on that bleach or tan in a can.

I dare you to have meaningless, drunken sex because everyone else is doing it. I dare you to blur your own boundaries, just to please someone else. I dare you to go to war with yourself.

I dare you to play small and talk yourself out of your dreams. I dare you to shrink yourself down, so you don’t intimidate or shadow those around you. I dare you to keep silent when your heart wants to roar.

I dare you to not love yourself today.

Because then you’ll see just how hard you’ll have to try.

You’ll see that you were created from love, and love was always, and will always be your story.

And you’ll see it’s not as scary, or impossible as it seems. Thought Catalog Logo Mark


About the author

Shani Jayawardena

I hold a mirror to your soul, so you can see how beautiful you are