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Is it bad to love yourself? Well, in a narcissistic way, yes, but in terms of value, no. I was thinking about this recently because I read about how someone was afraid of failure, and because of this fear they had been very unproductive. The advice I gave was to find someone older and wiser than them who they can lean on to help the through those tough times where they are likely to fail on their own. However, I believe the root of the problem is that when one chooses to let fear of failure control their life, they don't love or value themselves enough to take the risk of learning from their mistake for the benefit of their growth. If I love, or rather, value someone, I will do things for their own good regardless of whether they hate me for it or not. What happens when we love ourselves in this way? If I am to love myself in this way, I must do things that are for my own good even if those things are not enjoyable.

Love yourself today and do something that is hard for you for the very reason that you want what's best for yourself. Perhaps it may be reconciling with a family member, finally choosing to apply for college, or take time out of your day to work out. Whatever it may be, do it because you value yourself and want to better yourself. I will also challenge myself to do this. Whenever I am faced with an opportunity for growth that has a risk of failure, I will remind myself that I am valuable and this experience is good for me. The risk will always be present, but whether I fail or not, the experience will help me grow as a person.

Note to all, this does not apply to stupid decisions like, "I want to practice dodging traffic on the freeway, but I am afraid of failure." You know what kinds of failure I am talking about.