Why should we love ourselves?

[calmshell]

Or feel GOOD about ourselves? I was brought up in abuse, violence and shame...I was taught thinking ANYTHING good about myself was acting arrogant. I began to identify with constant criticism daily and torment from my mother. How can I not feel selfish about seeing the HOOD in me?

[calmshell]

It should say, 'seeing the GOOD ' in me not good, sorry!!

[calmshell]

Ughh not hood..damn autocorrect lol

[Paxiled]

Because it feels better than the alternative.  How you grew up isn't a criminal sentence you must fulfill. You can change your story.  Now, one shouldn't go overboard on "loving" oneself, that's narcissism and it blinds us to the fact humans aren't all that good at very much, but you can only see that and try to do better if you look at things objectively, which you can't do if you're starting out expecting to do poorly.  And that last line suggests a sense of humor, and that's a good thing.  The world gets better when humans act better.  And who wants to feel miserable all the time?  What we learn we can unlearn.  We can learn new things.  It's not easy, and if mental illness is involved, that has to be worked on.  Peace.