We’ve all been there. You put your heart on the line, but instead of experiencing the power of love, you endured heartbreak. Whether your most recent breakup happened last week or last year, the end of a relationship can leave you feeling jaded and disillusioned.
The prospect of risking your heart again can be daunting. After all, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. But as crazy as love can make you feel, risking your heart again isn’t insane. In fact, choosing to love again can be the healthiest thing to do. Here are a few reasons to remain open to the possibility of finding it.
There is nothing so rewarding as being in love. But the exhilaration of the highs is matched in intensity by the pain of the lows. It’s logical to think that if you close the valve of your heart, you’ll protect yourself from experiencing pain again. And that may be true; if you never love again, you’ll never have to face rejection. But blocking out love won’t prevent suffering. Instead, it causes a vital part of your own heart to atrophy. You risk losing touch with an important part of yourself.
In the aftermath of heartache, focus on becoming more attuned to your own needs instead of shutting down. Rejection and loss are harsh teachers, and the lesson they impart is that you are not strong enough to endure pain again. But if you look back over the course of your life, you can probably point to several examples to the contrary.
You have survived every loss you have experienced up until this point. You are probably kinder, wiser, and more resilient for them too. Of course, that’s not to say you should throw yourself in harm’s way for the sake of personal growth. When relationships end, we can become blinded by the pain of loss. We forget that we have benefited from the relationship in countless ways. Remembering the good times and experiencing gratitude for them is the first step toward healing.
We are all worthy of being loved, regardless of how we have felt at the end of a relationship. Reaffirm your worthiness by investing in your spiritual, emotional, and physical health. You will not only improve yourself, but you’ll also attract people who are on the same journey. When two people are committed to learning from their pasts, they stand a better chance of building a solid future together.
Loving another person is worth the risk, regardless of the outcome. Love deepens our appreciation of the world around us. It strengthens our character and transforms us into more selfless, compassionate people. Even the end of a relationship can have benefits, leaving us more mature and capable of enduring pain. Perhaps the greatest benefit of daring to love again is that we learn how to love ourselves through thick and thin.
Heartbreak can leave you feeling helpless… but daring to love again is a sign that heartbreak hasn’t had the final word. In fact, risking your heart again is a sign that you are braver and stronger than ever before.