No one can love you like you, because no one knows you like you. Today we want to consider some practical ways to do so. Learning to love yourself will set a remarkable standard for anyone coming into your life to live up to. Without this personal love standard in place, you run the risk of being abused, misused and undermined in your love endeavours. Here they are.
- ACCEPT YOUR ANATOMY. One of the greatest indicators of self-love is personal acceptance of your body. Unfortunately, many people are at war with their own anatomy, as they wallow under the illusion that someone else’s body would have been better for them. This insecurity can be easily picked up by emotional vampires, who tend to exploit the person by flattering them. Notice I am not advocating bodily complacency. I am just saying that you are better off appreciating the uniqueness of your body and the strategic opportunities that it affords you.
- ACCEPT YOUR HISTORY. We all did some things we weren’t proud of in our past. This could range from a child outside wedlock to a life of crime or even rebellion. Most of us however choose to labour under the guilt and shame of our past to the detriment of our self-worth. The fact is that we can’t change our yesterday, no matter how hard we try. Until we accept where we have been, we won’t be free to embrace where we are going. We must cherish our history and internalize the lessons we have learned. Anyone who isn’t willing to accept your past isn’t qualified to be in your future, provided that your past is past.
- ACCEPT YOUR PROCLIVITIES. We all have them no matter how good-natured we seem. We all have our personal inadequacies. I am not using this as an alibi to stay the same. It’s just the way we were made by the creator. Perhaps his purpose in permitting them is to keep us humble and dependent on his grace. Without our weaknesses, we all would have been susceptible to extreme manifestations of pride. If our weaknesses don’t stop the creator from loving us, it shouldn’t stop us from loving ourselves. In fact, I believe that our weaknesses represent the greatest opportunity for the relevance of our lovers if they know how to compensate for our inadequacies.
- ACCEPT YOUR PERSONAL DIFFERENCE. You are not like anybody, and neither will anybody ever be like you. You are unique, one of your kind. This, you must accept as a fact. In fact, you must learn to internalize, analyze and capitalize on your uniqueness. This exudes love and confidence in who you are as a person. This makes you quickly noticeable to individuals who desire the difference that you represent.
This integrated type of self-acceptance is the true mark of someone who has come to love themselves. The confidence that comes from accepting who you are holistically, is one of the most attractive forces in a relationship. Without self-acceptance, all our attempts at loving ourselves will fail.
THE GREATEST IS LOVE
