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Building self love

MingleMingle Veteran
edited October 2017 in Philosophy

How do you actually do it? Heaven's I can't. I am an extremely insecure person and I always have been. I want to change but it ain't easy. I am almost 30 years of age and I still have the confidence of a school boy. Something has got to change. For the best part of this decade I have been obsessed with testosterone, my hair and my look's. If someone suggests I am inadequate in any of these things it bums me out for days.
I can't keep on like this, I'm scared now that it is coming out in unhealthy ways. Any female that gives me the slightest bit of attention I just latch on to them, fall head over hills and it makes me feel worse. I don't even know if I'll make 40 if I can't change my outlook on life.
I have tried counseling CBT, the gym and I have been a Buddhist for over 3 years now. I have given up any social media through belief it involves self hatred but I can't shake it.
Yes I can have spouts of confidence but it always based on shallow superficial things. I have never attained that inner confidence though that is just happy with itself no matter what is on the outside. Just seems what ever I do I'm doomed to walk this earth feeling like a beta.

Comments

  • silversilver In the beginning there was nothing, and then it exploded. USA, Left coast. Veteran

    Having and maintaining confidence (the real thing?) is a bit of a roller-coaster ride for most. That's what I believe, anyway. As @federica said, you're not alone - far from it.
    A good woman/person will forgive you for being human.

    Snakeskin
  • seeker242seeker242 Zen Florida, USA Veteran

    How do you actually do it?

    Sitting cross legged on a meditation cushion doing metta meditation.

    ZenshinBunksSnakeskinnakazcid
  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    Often it's difficult to be kind to yourself. Think of the ways in which you suffer, and recognise that you too deserve the kindness that you have for other people. We often judge ourselves more harshly than we would judge a friend, but we do ourselves an injustice by not extending the loving kindness and generous spirit we have for others to ourselves as well.

    lobsterSnakeskin
  • personperson Don't believe everything you think The liminal space Veteran

    Recognizing the ways you suffer around these things is an important first step that a lot of people are never able to take. But actually changing things does take time and persistence. Those of us who have been around Buddhism for a while have seen it in ourselves and others though that change is not only possible but inevitable for those who do the work.

    lobsterSnakeskin
  • karastikarasti Breathing Minnesota Moderator

    Confidence comes in having success in all our various ventures. Seek out small things and recognize when you succeed at them, and build from there. What those are will vary greatly by person. For some, a week of daily showers and putting on clean clothes is a success. For others it is getting out for a short walk every day because they recognize that fresh air is vital to their well-being. Find something, anything, that makes you feel good because you know you made a good choice, and do it regularly.

    personSnakeskin
  • karastikarasti Breathing Minnesota Moderator

    To add to the above, this is a little bit long and is mostly aimed at fitness but can be applied at anything. The guy is a classmate of mine and has always been a super-motivated individual. I wish I was that way, lol. But I found this to be a good way to focus in on some things that are important and make you feel good about your life. It's so easy to not have a focus because our lives are so jam-packed with stuff. Find a few things that are important to you because you know, on your best days, that they make you feel your best. Those are the things that then carry you through the bad days, but they don't work if you can't be consistent.
    https://tomnikkola.com/non-negotiable-willpower/

    For me, meditation is one of my non-negotiables. No matter what my day brings, meditation comes first. I do it before I look at work emails, before I turn on the tv, before I even make my son's lunch for school. Because I know it carries me through my day, including my attitude about making lunch and getting them ready in the morning. I do dishes every evening, no matter how badly I don't feel like it. Because I know waking up to a clean kitchen is important to me. Because dealing with a messy kitchen while I make breakfast and school lunch is so aggravating it ruins my whole morning because my mood goes to crap. I get fresh air every single day, even if it's pouring or -40F.

    Look at the smaller things that you can change immediately because you know the positive effect they have on you. And stop making excuses about why you don't have time to do them. If they are that important, then they have to come first. And they influence your entire day. Taking care of ourselves is one of the main ways we love ourselves.

    adamcrossleyZenshinlobsterSnakeskin
  • ShoshinShoshin No one in particular Nowhere Special Veteran

    Building self love

    @Mingle "One suffers because one clings"

    A simple enough statement... but the deeper one delves into it, one could begin to loose one self in it....

    In the beginning the Path is hard to follow, because throughout life we have been conditioned with "What's in it for ME" and the thought of having to let go of the "ME"/self (and all the selves who sail in her) can be terrifying, hard for "ME" (the self) to handle....

    Plus in the beginning impatience is also a big obstacle ...."I want it NOW"
    Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche has some sound advice when it comes to Dharma practice

    To build self-love one has to know the self...

    "To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things. When actualized by myriad things, your body and mind as well as the bodies and minds of others drop away. No trace of enlightenment remains, and this no-trace continues endlessly."

    ~Dogen~

    @Mingle the intellect is just the springboard into the void and in this void all things are possible ...

    Use the intellect to 'study' the Dharma and meditation to 'study' the Mind...

  • SnakeskinSnakeskin Veteran
    edited October 2017

    @Mingle, as for Buddhist solutions, lovingkindness and contemplation of feelings seem the go-tos, but I’ve found contemplation of the unattractiveness of the body most -- unexpectedly -- effective for balancing out insecurities like these. It’s counterintuitive, but I think it works like a public speaker advised to alleviate stage fright by undressing the audience, only with unattractiveness you don’t stop at the clothes. I guess it has a way of putting things into a different perspective that acts as a counterweight.

  • DairyLamaDairyLama Veteran Veteran

    @Mingle said:> How do you actually do it? Heaven's I can't. I am an extremely insecure person and I always have been. I want to change but it ain't easy. I am almost 30 years of age and I still have the confidence of a school boy.

    It can take men takes ages to mature, or so I have heard. :p

    But seriously, have you tried metta bhavana practice? https://www.wildmind.org/metta/one

  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    @Snakeskin said:
    @Mingle, as for Buddhist solutions, lovingkindness and contemplation of feelings seem the go-tos, but I’ve found contemplation of the unattractiveness of the body most -- unexpectedly -- effective for balancing out insecurities like these. It’s counterintuitive, but I think it works like a public speaker advised to alleviate stage fright by undressing the audience, only with unattractiveness you don’t stop at the clothes. I guess it has a way of putting things into a different perspective that acts as a counterweight.

    That's good advice, that unattractiveness of the body can address insecurities especially between men and women as well... for men there is a temptation to put women on a pedestal, but when you get right down to it we are both skinfuls of bones, blood, excrement and gal. Both equally unattractive :)

    Snakeskin
  • nakazcidnakazcid Somewhere in Dixie, y'all Veteran

    Several days ago I ran across this quote from Florence and the Machine's video Delilah. It's been rattling around my brain since then, and seems appropriate, though I'm not sure how well it fits into Buddhist thought with the references to faith and soul.

    “You think you have lost your faith but you have not, you have only misplaced your faith. And you can find it, where it lies now deep in your soul, and the way to do that is through the simple process of love. Love yourself. Forgive yourself. You can’t love and forgive other people if you don’t first of all love and forgive yourself. You have to realize people are fallible beings. They make mistakes, they have to be excused from these mistakes and are allowed to continue on their quest for a better life and for goodness. So love yourself, then love other people. Please forgive yourself. Go on a journey finding love and forgiveness…”

    lobster
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