TRUTH: Self-love is not about feelings. True self-love includes no emotion - at all.
TRUTH: Increasing self-love always increases self-esteem, inner strength and, of course, quality of life.
REALITY: Self-love can be difficult to increase.
But I love Myself ! ?
Of the many ways to not love ourselves, here are a few of mine:
* When I am tired at work, I push myself instead of stopping or at least taking a few minutes of downtime.
* When a tiny rock is in my shoe, I start looking for a good place to take it out instead of just taking it out.
* Sometimes, I leave home without enough warmth for later, thinking, “Oh, it won’t be that cold.”
* My biggest self-love problem is putting off eating and urinatin,g too.
Why treat myself this way? Whatever I am doing at that moment is more important than I am, more important than my basic needs.
No Emotion?
True self-love has no emotion because love is a temporary feeling and does not bring change. Change only comes when we treat ourselves better.
And it can be a struggle.
First Time
I finally decided to start feeding myself at the first sign of hunger: I clenched my jaw, tightened my fists and made the decision. When the next meal rolled around, I wanted to finish… something. After some moments, I again decided to eat but came up with yet another reason to delay.
I realized I was in a struggle, and it was a struggle that continued to pop up meal after meal. This is what I learned.
The reasons I give myself for delaying (or denying) always sound compelling, but looking back, they are rarely true.
The benefits of this struggle are many: each time we do not feel like taking better care of ourselves but do it anyway, we increase both inner strength and self-esteem.
Also, giving ourselves more can make it easier to give to those around us (improving our relationships), and our quality of life rises too.
Sure, the increases are small, but they all add up to a better us living a better life.
Making Self-Love Easier
1. Progress is easier and faster when focusing on one change at a time.
If you feel frustrated with one change, switch to another. Each small success influences them all, even the ones we are unaware of.
2. Do not use a tough attitude when deciding to make a positive change. Clenched teeth only set the foundation for struggle and quitting.
Instead, before making your resolution, breathe out the body's tension with each breath; then, with a relaxed body and easy breathing, make the decision gently and quietly.
3. And each time you decide to take action, again, breathe out the tension. Relaxing body and breath can make it easier to ignore those ‘important’ reasons to delay or deny.
4. Above all, if you fail, be kind and gentle with yourself. Being self-critical only increases the struggle and the desire to quit.
The Truth About Self-Love
One of the most amazing feelings we can experience is that of someone caring about us, caring for us. It is a feeling that surrounds, supports, and lifts; it makes life better no matter what else is happening.
And it is a feeling that you can experience more of — from you. So do that. Go on a campaign to give yourself what you need when you need it because you deserve to feel cared for -- much more often.
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