This morning’s post by Que Jones made me smile. Beautiful picture of her glowing, and she states: “I like me”. I like this lady too.

I am out of town, stuck in a remote area with nothing much to do, so I spent the last week liking me. You know what, as much as I learned to love myself, having nothing to do, made me realize how much I truly like myself. What am I doing here? Laying in grass, barefoot, kissing the sun all day. It kisses me back- not kidding.

Sometimes, I forget to like myself. Life keeps me busy, I get distracted easily, I focus into things that are less important than loving life, loving me. Que Jones’s post this morning was a great reminder to start the morning, smiling at me.

A friend asked me a few months ago, how do I stay so positive (despite my bouts of panic attacks and anxiety), and I told her that I work on me every single day. It is a full time job, but I love my job. My task of appreciating me is the most passionate job I have. Like you, I have a career, hobbies, causes, board work, and a coupe of organizations I run. But, my job of loving me tops any task I have to perform any day.

It really is a great pleasure to love me. Try it, it will give you pleasure too. If you live alone, you’re in luck because without any distractions, you can focus onto yourself, your reflection in the mirror, your hot cup of tea, the silence, the rain fall and feel as if it all appreciates and loves you. Yes, you know how your cup of coffee loves you like nobody else can. Feel the love.

I love to meditate and I wish you all would too, but if you can’t, I understand. Loving you is a meditation without having to close your eyes and be still. Love the image in the mirror. Yes, that unshowered, crusty eyed, greasy haired you. Smile at her, laugh with her, who else could look so sexy in plaid, wrinkled pajamas better than you? Nobody.

Give yourself a hug every day. Learn to appreciate that hug from your soul to you. It feels better than anything to love yourself.

Last night I watched a few videos on Youtube. There were segments on cool female social media influencers and their lifestyles. I watched with great pleasure. What makes these young women so successful, so interesting, so alluring? They never stated this in the videos, but each one looked as if she loves her life, she loves all her passions, as if she is in love with herself. Each was self-possesed, so passionate about every little thing she did, that I said to myself Wow. No wonder each has millions of followers. People love people who love themselves authentically. There was nothing superficial about these women. They ignored their critics, they invested in themselves, but each worked on self-development. You might think that an influencer is a superficial job, but outside of their online presence, each woman was heavily invested in her personal growth, her spirituality, her journey. And each knew that she will be even better, when her career in social media expires. These young women are moguls, investing in building personal empires.

People who love themselves are magnetic. We are all drawn to them. They are a cure for whatever ails us.I practice managing my energy every day. The one thing I noticed is that when I am in that energetic state of love for my Self, my appreciation for every little thing I’ve got, awesome people, animals, are drawn to me.Men won’t leave me alone.

But on days when I slack off, and forget to adore myself, I get quite a different reaction from people and animals.

If you have a hard time liking yourself, don’t be discouraged. It took me some time to get comfortable with it. I come from two cultures, where women who like themselves, adore themselves, and are confident are called rude names. I am not a narcissist just because I like, love and adore myself.and neither are you.

Each day practice finding things to appreciate about your body, your soul, your life, even when you can’t think of something to like. Start with things that are easier to like, your sense of humour, your little finger if you can’t find anything else. As you learn to love that, expand into loving those aspects of yourself no one notices, those aspects even you didn’t like. It is amazing how my perspective shifted once I saw the beauty in my unacceptable flaws. Then I fell in love with those aspects of me that others always criticized and judged. That was the most powerful experience of all because suddenly their words could no longer hurt me. Imagine how powerless your critics would be if you stood there in your glory, appreciating all those flaws they couldn’t tolerate in you.

The biggest criticism I ever received was for my big mouth, my direct communication which tended to offend some male coworkers. I honestly don’t know how to express myself more softly in a way that does not threaten men. The biggest mistake I ever made was to try. Imagine what happened when I decided to appreciate my directness, my reasoning skills, to like me exactly as I already am. I fell in love with those brick they threw at me. Immediately I felt more powerful, more happy, more in love with exactly who I am. And almost immediately my critics became powerless. Who would dare judge a woman who knows with absolute certainty who she is, how much she appreciates herself, how powerfully she exudes love for herself?

Yes, in those high states of self-appreciation, everybody appreciates me too.

There is no shame in being in love with ourselves first. If we can’t love ourselves, how can we love other people authentically? If people doubt your love, if they don’t need it, it is because they feel that the energy you exude toward yourself is weak. Love yourself powerfully.

Love is a magnet. The energy of love is intoxicating. We are all drawn to it. The mistake we make is chasing people with our love, which is perceived as a lack of respect for the self. Draw your energy inward. The more you practice falling in love with yourself, the more other people will too. I guarantee it.

S