HOW TO LOVE YOURSELF AND ACCEPT YOUR GREATNESS

Do you really love yourself in an authentic way? Loving yourself authentically means that you have a deep understanding and appreciation of who you really are.  You accept yourself as you are without excessively judging and criticizing yourself.  For many people, authentic self-love is difficult because they judge themselves harshly and push themselves too hard. The solution is to have balanced self-love, in which you love and forgive yourself, while recognizing your areas of needed improvement.  Here’s how to practice self-love in a healthy and powerful way:

*Write a self-love letter.  Write a letter from the perspective of your future self. Write as if your future self is asking your present self an important question:  Am I living my most authentic, healthy, and love-filled life right now? Perhaps, you’re not living healthily right now—eating the wrong foods, indulging in bad habits.  Maybe, you’re not living an authentic and loving life because you’re in an incompatible relationship or career. If that’s the case, then you need to change course right now so your future self will benefit from your current decisions: practice healthy habits, choose the right career or relationship, and develop your inner and outer self.

*Practice radical self-care. Give special attention to your physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Get enough rest and exercise, eat healthy, and engage in positive and life-affirming hobbies, occupations, and pursuits. When you do this, you are able to give more to others because you have more to give.

*Repeat a self-love mantra.  Every morning when you wake up, repeat a phrase that acknowledges your specialness as a human being and the great gift you have been given, which is Life.  Say something like this:  “Today I am fortunate to wake up. I am alive. I am not going to waste this precious gift known as ‘Human Life.’  Instead of anger and fear, I will have thoughts of peace, love, confidence, and security. I am blessed.”  When you repeat this phrase on a daily basis, you will unleash hidden power. Instead of seeing the world from a mindset of lack and insecurity, you will realize that there is an abundance of everything you need in the world, and within yourself.

It's important to remember that healthy self-love is not egotism, selfishness, or narcissism. It is a balanced appreciation and acceptance of who you really are, while recognizing the specialness of all human beings. When you love yourself authentically, you have more love to give to others.  You also have more energy, vitality, and confidence to achieve your greatness and leave a lasting legacy of goodness, love, and contribution. Love yourself today, and spread your love to the world without expectation. That is the greatest secret of all.