I love me, who do you love?

I don’t have good sneakers. All my gym clothes are too tight. My back is sore from helping a friend move. I have a lot going on this week. I think I might be getting a cold. I tripped over my dog and stubbed my toe so I can’t work out today (true story). I’ve heard it all and I’m sure I’ve said it all too. But whatever the reasons, excuses or situations, we fall back on to avoid taking better care of ourselves are, they all come down to one thing; not loving you!

Loving ourselves is not about conceit, arrogance, or vanity. Loving ourselves is about self-respect, knowing our value and honoring exactly who we are at any given moment. We love our partners, children, loved ones and we take really great care of them. Even our pets get treated like royalty. And we have all heard the saying “loving someone means wanting the best for them”. It is time to turn that love inward and live unapologetically with self-interest. Because what is best for you will undoubtedly be what is also best for those you love.

How do we fall in love with ourselves? The same way we fall in love with anyone else. Spend some time with yourself. Love is found in quiet moments and gentle words. Take yourself on a date, get a massage, linger in a bookstore or just be still with your thoughts and emotions and see who shows up. Think about how you have fallen in love in the past. There was probably something you found irresistible about that other person; their smile, the way they made you laugh, a gentle touch. Seek that out in yourself, find something about you that you find irresistible and let that be your guide to a deeper appreciation of all you are and can be.

Oscar Wilde wrote that “People are afraid of themselves nowadays. They have forgotten the highest of all duties, the duty that one owes to one’s self”. Being self-reliant is the greatest gift you can give yourself. And within that self-reliance comes a duty to do what is best for you, above all else.

What’s the result of all this self love? We instinctively make better choices for our overall well-being. We smile more. We are more joyful and pleasant to be around. We operate on a higher level mentally, physically, and spiritually. In other words…we fall in love with life!

-Sherri Krug-Summers