This is based on the final minutes of a dream I had:

Loving yourself is like drinking water. Our bodies need water to survive and to perform basic functions both internally and externally. To love yourself is to be satisfied with drinking water. Most of us can get bored with water sometimes or we may have different preferences for different types of drinks (coffee, tea, bear, wine, scotch etc). The point these different drinks are just an added benefit but they are not necessary to survive. Being in a relationship is like drinking one of these drinks.

In any case, sometimes we get confused and go to clubs or bars with the sole intent of talking to women. But its often counterproductive. So to get back to the water metaphor, it would seem strange for someone that is thirsty to only search for coffee or beer, drinks that are not in one's control, and bypass what we have which is in our control which is to get some water.

Water is an abundant resource available to us all in the world, but most of it is usually in an undrinkable form. In other words, we must be able to purify the water that is naturally available and easy to access, before we ingest it. Drinking bad water is almost as bad as drinking no water, since it gets you sick and dehydrates you.

To love yourself, one must be able to purify this water available. This means filtering out all the negative rocks and pebbles, the negative ideas we get about ourselves from outside. This also means boiling all the micro-organisms that you may not be able to see that might still be in the water, or cautiously evaluating and extinguishing from the mind all the seemingly positive advice (flattery) or seeming love that comes from a false place (lies) etc.

There are many ways to keep going with the metaphor but I leave it up to you guys. I just wanted to add that nobody is born completely constantly hydrated. We all get thirsty and it doesn't take long for us to feel the need to hydrate. So like nutritionists tell us, we should be constantly hydrating or constantly enjoying life for ourselves. Don't wait to take a date to a new restaurant or coffee spot you were thinking about. Go there yourself, and enjoy the meal. Don't wait to do things with girls or go with the intention that the whole goal is to talk to girls. Go enjoy yourself, try new things for yourself, out of your own curiosity, work hard on your hobbies and creative activities. When you are constantly doing things or just enjoying life, you will naturally feel thirsty and feel the need to hydrate.

The other thing is this: no one gets hydrated by themselves or internally, or by wishing it to be so, or hoping. You need to get water from outside us to fill us up. You need to keep gaining a positive appreciation of your experience either from information you consume to actual real life positive experiences, even trying out new things and failing can be seen as a positive experience in that you learned what doesn't work!

The last thing I'll say is that we are all born with some water in us, so never ever feel like you are worthless sack of shit or whatever you conjure up in your head. In other words, naturally, we have in us a general baseline feeling of positive appreciation of ourselves. It will not last long, and we will get thirsty, if we just let ourselves go without hydrating frequently, but doing so (hydrating frequently) will enable us to be healthy and to enjoy ourselves even if more.