Love Everyone, Including Yourself

Psychologist and social philosopher Erich Fromm said that loving yourself means caring about yourself, respecting yourself, and knowing yourself. (e.g. being realistic and honest about your strengths and weaknesses)

Lucille Ball said, "Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world."

An amazing amount of time and energy gets wasted in self-hate and sabotage. The effects of this negative energy spread like ripples in a pond, affecting every relationship and every life task. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy, based on a faulty premise – that you are essentially unlovable. Whatever the root of this belief is, the outcome is the same – a sense of dissatisfaction with your circumstances, a feeling of emptiness, a conviction of being unworthy.

Just as negative energy attracts negative energy, positivity breeds positivity. Loving yourself sets up a positive cycle that will spread through your life in incredible ways. Love yourself for all the good that you see in yourself, then accept your flaws and the fact that you are imperfect!

This does not mean that you do not learn to change from your shortcomings; instead, you are being gentle and kind to yourself despite all your 'flaws.' It's helpful to treat yourself the way you would a trusted friend, with respect and care. Rather than attacking yourself with criticism for mistakes you make, practice forgiveness, and make a daily habit of congratulating yourself for positive change – this will help reinforce the new behaviour, and make you feel good about doing it! Trust yourself, and acknowledge your efforts, just as you would to support a loved one.

It is important that you strengthen yourself with proper nutrition and regular exercise. Your body is a temple and you should treat it with respect, love and care. It has been found that the lack of self love is often the root cause of conditions like obesity. As you care for yourself, your ability to care for others will grow exponentially – more energy, more joy, and more freedom of movement!