Do you love yourself enough? What do you see when you look into the mirror?
Do you see someone who is flawed, not good enough, and unlovable? Or do you see a wonderful person who deserves to love and be loved?
You may be uncomfortable with the thought of self-love. You may have been taught that self-love is another word for pride or arrogance.
What if self-love is really the first step toward your most amazing life?
5 signs you are not loving yourself enough
- You criticize and judge yourself constantly
- You discount yourself
- You don’t take care of your mind and body
- You don’t nourish yourself spiritually
- You are not living the life of your dreams
Definition of self-love
According to psychologist Erich Fromm, self-love is caring about yourself, taking responsibility for yourself, respecting yourself, and knowing yourself. He suggests that to be able to love another person, you need to be able to love yourself first.
In an article in Psychology Today, Ilana Simons suggests a simple definition: self-love is taking a break from self judgment. Try this out for yourself. Spend a day without judging yourself. If that seems too difficult, spend an hour without judging yourself. Can you feel the difference?
What can you expect?
“Love is the miracle cure. Loving ourselves works miracles in our lives.” Louise Hay
“The more you like yourself, the less you are like everyone else, which makes you unique.”Walt Disney
“To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.” Thich Nhat Hanh
As you can hear from these quotes, self-love and self acceptance open the door to the life you dream about.
But, self-love is not that easy
For many of us self-love seems like an impossible dream. Carl Jung said “The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.”
But, self-love is our natural state. When you look into the eyes of a tiny baby, you don’t see judgment, only love.
Steps to self-love
In Anatomy of the Spirit, Caroline Myss gives us some practical thoughts on self-love. “Self-love means caring for ourselves enough to forgive people in our past so that the wounds no longer damage us – for our wounds do not hurt the people who hurt us, they hurt only us.”
Letting go of the past is the easiest way to reclaim our natural state of self-love.
Are you ready to learn how to love yourself again?
To keep reading …(Image: Katharina G.@Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/katharina_90/5964420828/)
