When most people think about self-love, they picture self-care routines, soothing rituals, or inspirational quotes. But in my recent conversation with Jonathan Aslay, one of America’s leading midlife self-love coaches, he reminded us that true self-love is something much deeper—and much harder. It is the courageous act of taking responsibility for your emotional life, examining your patterns, and reconnecting with the parts of yourself that have been buried by trauma, heartbreak, and identity loss.