How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you

All too often we find people scrunching up their nose at the mention of self-love as if it’s a bit cheesy and self-indulgent. We also hear people telling people to love themselves. Learning to love yourself is one of the most powerful and important things you can do in life. Your heart is your power and when you become the source of love in your own life it changes everything. But while we all know deep down that it’s important to love yourself, we find the area that people get most stuck on actually knows how to do it.

Some of us try to indulge in things that make us feel special or important: electronics, cars, fancy getaways, and big homes. It’s kind of like telling yourself, “If I could treat myself big it would be proof enough that I love myself. Look at what I did for me!” In the name of self-love some indulge in great wine, food, and amazing experiences and what they get is actually a momentary satisfaction – for sure. Well, I don’t deny that as life is here to be tasted. The truth is when we tend to do what makes us grow as men and women empowered by peace and serenity and equanimity and above all truly human, we actually start to feel and understand what self-love is all about. If you’re totally new to the practice of self-love then start with focusing on nourishing yourself. Solo-dating is all about spending quality time with yourself and doing something special, just for you. It is one of the most powerful (and fun) things you can do when it comes to practicing self-love.

Another way to define this tending to ourselves is self-discipline. Self-discipline and being righteous. Also learning up empathy and compassion, being grateful for all that’s happening in our lives, and learning to be enthusiastic. What’s important is that it consistently tends to our development as physical and spiritual beings.

It’s no mistake that we push ourselves to be disciplined – because we think we should for that it’s good for us. But I sense we may be overlooking self-discipline as a rich and meaningful path for knowing and growing our self-love. There are many paths to love. Some people engage in selfless social welfare activities. This one strikes me as particularly sweet, in that it’s not so obvious.