The decisions we make reflect how we feel about ourselves, and a lack of self-love can lead to patterns that hold us back. Without realizing it, you may be making choices that undermine your happiness, health, and growth.

Identifying these behaviors is crucial to breaking free from self-sabotage. Here are five bad decisions you might keep making when you don’t love yourself.

1. Settling for Toxic Relationships
You might keep staying in unhealthy relationships—whether romantic, platonic, or professional—because you don’t believe you deserve better. Allowing people to mistreat or undervalue you reflects a lack of self-worth.

2. Neglecting Self-Care
Skipping basic self-care, like eating well, exercising, or getting enough sleep, often stems from not prioritizing your own needs. You might push yourself too hard or let your health slide because you don’t feel you’re worth the effort.

3. Comparing Yourself to Others
Constantly measuring yourself against other people’s achievements, looks, or lives can leave you feeling inadequate. This harmful habit stems from not recognizing your unique qualities and worth.

4. Overworking or Overcommitting
You might take on too much—saying "yes" to every request or pushing yourself to exhaustion—because you don’t value your boundaries or fear you’ll disappoint others.

5. Avoiding Opportunities
Fear of failure or self-doubt may stop you from pursuing opportunities that excite you. Whether it’s applying for a promotion, starting a business, or trying something new, self-love means believing in your potential and taking risks.

These bad decisions can become a cycle, but recognizing them is the first step to breaking free. When you start loving yourself, you’ll make choices that honor your worth, set healthy boundaries, and build a life that truly makes you happy.