The most important of all the seven pillars as it is affected by all the others.
 
Some define love as a willingness to prioritize another's well-being or happiness above your own.

But what happens when you cant love yourself?

Most of us seem to struggle with this.  I know I did.  Most of us are NOT the person we want to be.  We know health is important, yet we eat fast food.  Family is important, yet work comes first.  We aim to be honest, yet we lie to ourselves and those around us with masks of 'everything is OK'.

I struggled for years to be able to look at myself in the mirror.  It wasn't so much my appearance, it was all the stuff I had bottled up inside that I hadn't dealt with.  It wasn't until I pulled the rug back and looked at what was under there that positive changes started to occur.

You MUST learn to love yourself... bottom line.
THEN,  you can love those around you...
And THEN, you can be a force for good by spreading the love.

I found self discipline to be the biggest boost for my self love.  I stopped drinking alcohol and it progressed from there.  I felt healthier, so I started jogging.  I had time to play the guitar again and music is a real mood booster and motivator.  I lost weight and people noticed.  It snowballs!  Quit doing that which is not good for you.

On my journey I am yet to find anything more important than love and connection.  Its the answer to a better world.  Work on yourself... you deserve it!

It starts today

1. Give yourself a break

No one is perfect. We’ve all made mistakes and we all have our secrets.  Acknowledge yours and move on... it happened yesterday.  Take the steps to make changes that will result in a better future you.  Counselling, writing down your past stories or join a personal development group... like this one!

2.  Invest in yourself
We all have ways we can better ourselves, its never ending.  Life is about continual growth, so do yourself a favour.  Grab a book, listen to podcasts, learn something new.  I am amazed at when people ask "what do you do" we all answer with our job title.  I now answer with 'I'm an amateur comedian, a bad drummer, and a fun dad... and there's lots more"

3.  Do 1% more than yesterday
Get the ball rolling!  Start moving towards what you want and start feeling better.  When I started stand up comedy I was terrified... but I made myself do it.  I kept saying to myself, 'just put one foot in front of the other and see where it might take you"
I bombed!... but I felt so good about myself and couldn't believe I actually did it!  It ignited something... something that told me to keep doing it!  Even if I am doing it badly.