Above all, be honest with yourself.
When you lie to yourself and start believing your own lies, you lose the ability to see the truth—both in yourself and in the world around you.
This destroys your self-respect and your respect for others.
Without respect, love fades away, and to fill the emptiness, you turn to distractions and harmful habits.
Worse still, lying to yourself makes you quick to feel insulted and offended, even when no one has wronged you.
You might invent reasons to feel hurt, exaggerate situations, and feed your resentment until it becomes bitterness.
And in doing so, you trap yourself in a cycle of unhappiness and dishonesty.