I love me!
That may sound funny or narcissistic. But I’m serious. I love ME and you should too.
That is not bragging. I love myself so I take care of my physical and mental well-being. I get enough sleep at night, exercise regularly, and keep a close eye on my weight.
However, I do not follow a strict diet, but I do practice moderation. My diet is typically Asian, low in meat, lots of vegetables and fruits.
I give my mental muscles a daily workout equivalent to an hour’s pumping at the gym.
Despite the above, not everything is cozy between me and me. There are days when the spirit is willing but the body is weak. I am sure that you too experience the same episodes.
It’s called psychological incompatibility.
Psychological incompatibility and self-love:
What nobody tells you is that psychological incompatibility is not just a couple. It can also be experienced by older people who live alone.
In fact, older people are more prone due to loneliness, financial insecurity, and medical problems, the three most common concerns of older people.
Any of them can emphasize self-love. They can make you irritable, tense from stress.
They can make you feel down, discouraged, disillusioned, and disgusted with yourself.
Financial insecurity, for example, limits your options to what you can afford. Limit your socializing, your choice of food, entertainment, and many other things that you would have wanted to enjoy but couldn’t.
These age-related issues make self-love doubtful, if not impossible, to achieve. They make you helpless and unable to make the right decisions, to do something fruitful and pleasant; prevent you from enjoying your retirement.
Another obstacle to self-love is loneliness. For an older adult who lives alone, he is my constant companion. He consumes you, makes you feel lazy and purposeless.
Loneliness, if left unchecked, can cause serious medical problems like melancholy, depression, and dementia. It can even make you think about suicide.
Self love is not optional:
Love is the general purpose of life, of oneself and of others. Loving others is impossible without loving yourself. Too much love for oneself creates an egocentrism that is just as bad as not loving oneself.
Louise Hay, an American motivational speaker and author brought up the idea of self-laughter by saying:
“When people begin to love themselves more each day, it’s amazing how their lives improve. They feel better. They get the jobs they want. They have the money they need. Their relationships improve or negative ones dissolve and new ones are created . to start.”
Loving yourself requires a careful evaluation of your core beliefs and values; to know who and what you are. It also requires the willingness to change for the better.
Doing that is easy through these simple steps…
1. Accept yourself unconditionally:
Some people profess to love themselves only after they have achieved an imagined goal, that is, health, wealth, good looks, marrying the woman of their dreams, or building the house of their dreams.
It won’t work because they may not happen or something may get in the way that alters the course of events in your life.
Accepting yourself removes your conditionality. Lift a heavy load off your chest; it makes you more optimistic about everything around you.
It gives you a clearer idea of where you are and where you want to go and a better understanding and acceptance of the difficulties that lie ahead.
You become self-aware and appreciate your values as a person.
2. Take the trip alone:
You are responsible for the decisions you make, no one else. If you screw up, don’t blame others for the mess you’re in.
Most of the time, we blame so many things for our misfortunes i.e. our upbringing, our circumstances, the people around us, our appearance and many other things. We even blame the stars we were born under.
Not acknowledging mistakes will only make you miserable, bitter, and pessimistic. It will prevent you from trying again for fear of failing again.
No one succeeded the first time. Everyone has experienced the bitter taste of failure and defeat.
Those who love themselves just shake their butts every time they fall, get up and continue the race. They believe they can take whatever life throws at them and win. And they do.
Those who are not losers and will continue to lose until they face the ugly reality that their misfortunes are their doing.
3. Start loving yourself now:
“You may delay, but time will not, and lost time will never be found again.” -Benjamin Franklin
If you want to start loving yourself, start now, not tomorrow, the next day, or the next week.
Time waits for no one and you could never imagine your lost opportunities by not taking yourself seriously now.
From now on, make this your mantra: “I love…me.”
As crazy as it sounds, you could never do anything with your life if you don’t. On the contrary, the world is your limit if you do.
Self love is a default option. Meaning, you could never have it any other way if you want to live a happy, healthy, and successful life.