Learning to Love Yourself After 60

Do you love yourself? It’s a simple question, but, for most of us, I suspect the answer is complex. On one level, I assume that most of us have the instinct to say “Of course!” But, I’m less sure whether we really mean it. Or, do we perhaps just believe that this is the right thing to say.

In my opinion, learning to love yourself is a process that takes time and effort. Why? Because, before you can love yourself, you need to know yourself.

Personally, I have found that keeping a journal is a fantastic way to get to know myself over the years. When I was a young mother, I didn’t have time to write. But, now that I am in my 60s, I have once again started to explore this part of myself. I also like to take long walks by the lake. What do you do to learn more about yourself?

Loneliness is such an important issue for women over 60. Ironically, as I have written about before, the first step to conquering loneliness is to love yourself. As Maxwell Maltz once said, “If you make friends with yourself, you will never be alone.”

What’s your take on this? Do you agree that people are too quick to say that they love themselves without really getting to know themselves first? What do you do on a regular basis to learn more about yourself? Please join the conversation.