10 ways to love yourself

"The Power is Within You" is one of the books that I am now reading. I came across a chapter that is entitled "How to Love Yourself" I wanted to share something from this chapter that I thought was very right for me. She gives 10 ways to love yourself.

1. Probably the most important key is to stop criticizing yourself. If we tell ourselves that we are okay, no matter what is going on, we can make changes to our lives easily. It is when we make ourselves bad that we have great difficulty. We all change, everyone. Every day is a new day, and we do things a little differently than we did the day before. Our ability to adapt and flow with the process of life is our power.

Those who have come from dysfunctional homes often have become super-responsible and have gotten in the habit of judging themselves unmercifully. They have grown up amidst tension and anxiety. The message they get as children is: "There must be something wrong with me." THink for a moment at the words you use when scolding yourself. Some of the phrases that people tell me are: stupid, bad, useless, careless, dumb, ugly, worthless, sloppy, dirty, fat, etcetra. Are these the same words that you use when describing yourself?

There is a tremendous need to build self-worth and value in ourselves, because when we feel not good enough, we find ways to keep ourselves miserable. We create illness or pain in our bodies; we procrastinate about things that would benefit us; we mistreat our bodies with food, alcohol or drugs.

We are all insecure in some ways because we are human. Let us learn not to pretend that we are perfect. Having to be perfect only puts immense pressure on ourselves and it prevents us from looking at areas in our lives that need healing. Instead, we could discover our creative distinctions, our individualities, and appreciate ourselves for the qualities that set us apart from others. Each one of us has a unique roll to play on this earth, and when we are critical of ourselves, we obscure it.