[B1] How to Love Yourself

Jessica: Hi everyone, welcome back to the 5-Minute English Practice. I’m Jessica. Today, we’re talking about something many people struggle with—how to love yourself. We’re often kind to others, we listen, we support, we understand. But when it comes to ourselves, we’re much harder. So if you’ve ever been kind to everyone else but strict with yourself, this episode is for you.

Peter: Hi everyone, I’m Peter. And honestly, if you’ve ever felt like you’re trying your best but still feel not good enough, you’re not alone. Learning to love yourself isn’t easy, and most of us were never taught how.

Jessica: For a long time, I thought self-love was for confident people. I used to think, “I’ll love myself later, after I improve, after I fix things.” So I kept pushing myself, and at the same time, I kept being impatient with myself.

Peter: I did the same. After a failure, I started talking to myself in a really harsh way. I told myself I had to be stronger, smarter, better. I thought being hard on myself would help me grow, but instead, it just made me tired.

Jessica: That’s when I realized something important. Self-love isn’t about being perfect. It’s about how you treat yourself when things aren’t going well.

Peter: Exactly. One night, I made a small mistake, and my thoughts were immediately negative. Then I stopped and thought, “If I spoke to a friend like this, I’d hurt them.” So why was I speaking to myself that way?

Jessica: I had a similar moment. I was sitting alone one evening, feeling emotionally exhausted. I wanted comfort, but my mind said, “You shouldn’t feel like this. Be stronger.” And that’s when I felt sad—not because I was weak, but because I wasn’t being kind to myself.

Peter: That’s often where self-love begins, when you notice how much pressure you’ve been putting on yourself.

Jessica: So what does loving yourself actually look like? It’s not something big or dramatic. Most of the time, it’s very small and very quiet. Sometimes, it’s simply saying, “It’s okay to feel this way.”

Peter: For me, self-love started with forgiveness. I had to stop holding onto guilt from the past, because instead of helping me move forward, it was keeping me stuck. Letting go felt uncomfortable at first, but afterward, I felt lighter.

Jessica: Another big part of self-love is rest. I used to think rest had to be earned. If I stopped, I felt lazy. But when I finally allowed myself to rest without feeling guilty, I realized how tired I really was.

Peter: Setting boundaries was important for me too. At first, saying no felt selfish. But every time I ignored my limits, I felt worse, so little by little, I learned to protect my energy.

Jessica: And that’s the thing—self-love is practical. It’s drinking water when you’re tired, choosing sleep instead of staying up late again, and checking in with yourself instead of pushing your feelings away.

Peter: It’s also about stopping comparison. Everyone looks fine on the outside, but we never see the full picture.

Jessica: When I stopped comparing myself to others, I felt calmer. I realized I wasn’t slow or behind—I was just living my own life.

Peter: So if you’re listening and thinking, “I don’t know how to love myself,” start small. You don’t need confidence first, you don’t need success first, and you don’t need to change who you are.

Jessica: Self-love begins when you stop being your own enemy, when you choose patience instead of punishment, rest instead of pressure, and honesty instead of pretending everything is fine.
Before we end, take one slow breath. If you’ve been hard on yourself, let today be a little different. You’re allowed to feel tired, you’re allowed to make mistakes, and you’re allowed to take up space in your own life. Learning how to love yourself isn’t about becoming better, it’s about being more gentle with who you already are. Thank you for listening to the 5-Minute English Practice. I’m Jessica, and I’ll talk to you again very soon.