In this day and age, we hear different opinions and beliefs around the topic of self-love. During the self-discovery journey, you may come across a period of time where you have to focus on you, meaning you isolate yourself a bit from friends and family and set boundaries. This period is absolutely crucial for reconnecting with yourself. It’s painful and scary, but you have to do it.

Some of the people in your life may not understand and resent you for doing this. I’m hear to tell you that you cannot be at fault if you are choosing to work on yourself. It’s the best thing you can ever do in life, and if your friends don’t get that, then that is not your fault.

Setting boundaries is difficult, and oftentimes people don’t reciprocate the distance you need from them. They call you selfish and that you’re not there for them. At the end of the day, you have to be there for yourself, so if you lose some friends during this period, they may never have even been your friends in the first place.

I’m not saying that you should just start cutting people out of your life with no warning/explanation. You don’t owe anyone an explanation, though. What I mean is that to those closest to you, those who you don’t want to lose, have a conversation with them. Tell them that you’re going through a lot right now and that you might be a little distant from them. Communicating your needs in this way will help them realise that you don’t want to lose them, and you aren’t doing this purposefully to hurt them. You just want to feel ok again, and that’s what matters.

You are not selfish for working on yourself. To small-minded people who have no clue, and give no ducks, to this world of self-discovery, it may appear that you are being selfish. Take no notice of these people and do what you need to do to heal and get through the pain in your life.