Loving Yourself vs. Being Conceited

Although I have oftentimes stated the fact that you must first love yourself before bestowing your love upon someone else, I would like to point out that loving yourself beyond a certain degree, to the point of conceitedness, could actually destroy a relationship more than you think it would improve it.

You may ask, "What is the line between loving myself and being conceited?"  I believe the answer lies in the word "humbleness."  A person that loves himself or herself does not often outwardly show it.  There may be a few episodes where the self-confident individual outwardly expresses that he or she thinks that she's, oh, I don't know, a "pretty cool person," but this once-in-a-while type of expression does not constitute that this person is conceited.

Someone that is conceited cares about him or herself and only him or herself at all times.  Another word to describe a conceited person could be "selfish."  This conceited person thinks very highly of him or herself, and no one else matters.  A glance in the mirror turns into an hour-long self-talk session (proclaiming things, verbally or in thoughts, such as, "You look so good today," or, "You are just...so awesome, so amazing.").  A genuine compliment from an innocent, humble, self-confident person turns into the gross response of, "I already know that, but thanks anyways!"  A conceited person wants power and is not afraid to admit it.

A person that loves him or herself, however, in a more modest nature, is the person you walk by and immediately sense their confidence.  You don't know they're confident through their outrageous, outward expressions, but you can sense it.  A self-confident, self-loving person holds a genuine smile and does not expect the world to bow at his or her feet.  A self-confident person recognizes and accepts mistakes and holds an open mind.

The reason why someone that is conceited could ruin a relationship seems obvious.  All of the love that a conceited person could contain, and then some, is bestowed upon him or herself and no one else.  What is a relationship without even a tiny ounce of love?  What happens, however, when two conceited people date each other?  It seems that war would burst out, but to be honest, I have yet to witness two conceited people date each other.

Can we really have such a loathing for the people that love themselves a little bit "too much?"  Wouldn't we rather it be that than an overly-emo teenager?

The point I am trying to make is this: if you are seriously considering involving yourself in a relationship, it is better to love yourself and be humble in your thoughts and actions rather than love yourself so much that you don't have any more love to give to anyone else.  Humbleness is fundamental.