(♥)
To truly love yourself, you have to support your own happiness. You have to be 100% behind yourself, supporting your own actions, choices, and decisions. If you don't think that accurately describes you, you've got some work to do! First and foremost, you must believe that your happiness is worthwhile. As Buddha has said, "You, as much as anyone in the universe, deserve your love and affection." And in order to do that, you must value your own happiness.
Sad as it is to say, too many people are actually sabotaging their own happiness -- and most of them are doing so unknowingly. In life, there are many things we cannot control. We cannot control other people. We cannot control the weather. We cannot control some of the circumstances we find ourselves in. But we can control is ourselves. And too many of us are not taking our own happiness into account -- a sure sign that we're not giving ourselves the love and affection we deserve.
Take a look at this list of questions and answer them honestly. Don't just breeze through them. Really think about them and ask yourself if you find yourself doing these things.
Do you always say "yes"?
Do you always say "no"?
Do you take on too much?
Do you waste time on things that make you unhappy?
Do you spend time with people who cause you unhappiness?
Do you sleep too much? Not enough?
Do you eat foods that will keep you healthy and strong?
Do you speak to yourself with a tone of self-love?
Do you spend enough time laughing every day?
Do you believe in yourself?
Do you surround yourself with those that believe in you?
Do you spend time outdoors, in nature, or with animals?
Do you read and/or learn about subjects you're interested in?
Do you feel inspired?
Do you strive to inspire other people?
How do you feel after you asked yourself these questions? Do you realize now that you could be sabotaging your own happiness? While it's quite easy to blame things or people or situations, more often than not, it is we who bring ourselves down by doing too much or not doing enough. If you want to be able to give the world all you have to offer, you have to take a step back from how you're living and really examine your answers to these questions. Do you like the answers you see? If not, what can you do to change them?
Though it may be hard to admit, there's a chance that you're standing between yourself and happiness. It's up to you to take a good, hard look at these questions and understand what you need to change in your life. If you want to love yourself, you have to treat yourself with love. You have to live a life that inspires you and leaves you feeling fulfilled, not drained and unhappy. Choose to love yourself by choosing not to stand in the way of your own happiness.
Hi! These are wonderful questions to ask ourselves. These questions are a guide to let us know if we are on the path to self-love. When we love ourselves we don't sabotage. When we are angry and frustrated with ourselves and our lives our judgement is off. Treating ourselves gently is crucial. Thanks for this wonderful post!
Posted by: Dandy | February 10, 2011 at 10:49 AM
Dandy - Thank you! I'm so glad you liked these questions and think they will be a good guide for those on the path to self-love. It can be really hard to even know what questions to ask sometimes so I was hoping these would be helpful.
Posted by: positively present | February 11, 2011 at 08:27 AM
This post has really got me thinking and is inline with some of the things I'm working on currently...looking forward to discovering my answers to this questions. Thanks for the added insight!
Posted by: Saggleo | February 15, 2011 at 01:19 PM
Saggleo - I'm glad this post got you thinking. Sometimes we just need to start asking questions to really figure out what's going on with us and our lives. Glad these could inspire you!
Posted by: positively present | February 15, 2011 at 02:23 PM
Dear PP, I was posting today on a social network site (http://spiritualsoul.net), a verse and commentary from The Bhagavad Gita. I snuck the word "self-sabotaging" into the commentary and then googled it just to make sure I was spelling it right. That search led me to here. I so enjoyed this post that I added it to my post, which follows. Thank you for shining your light!
Chapter 10, Verse 21
“I am Vishnu
Among the shining gods.
I am the radiant Sun
Among the light-givers.
I am Marichi
Among the storm gods.
I am the Moon
Among the stars of night.”
Paramahansa Yogananda:
“The Sun represents the fatherhood of God, and the Moon the motherhood of cosmic nature, the consort of God. This male/female principle repeats itself throughout nature, ‘parenting’ all matter. The Sun/Moon analogy is recurrent throughout Yoga philosophy, representing spirit and nature.
Marichi is proclaimed as chief of the Maruts, the forty-nine wind gods. According to the ancients, various air currents blow around the Earth, and the one referred to as Marichi is the most beneficial. The esoteric implication is evident in the fact that Marichi is also designated as one of the seven Rishis (X: 6). In the human body, there are seven principal life currents which are amplified into forty-nine specialized forces.”
Sri Eknath Easwaran:
“Recently astronomers have developed high-powered instruments for looking beyond our galaxy to probe a universe much vaster and more wonderful than we ever imagined, a universe in which there are billions of other galaxies, all held together in the embrace of a unifying force. To me, this unifying force is the infinite love of the Lord, operating on the physical level. All things in the created universe are one in the Lord. That is why he is called Vishnu, ‘he who is everywhere.’ When the Lord puts his arms around creation so that it can work in harmony, this is love on a cosmic scale. Just as people live together as a family fostering each other’s welfare and happiness, so the cosmos is a family in which every member is related. Each part derives its significance from the whole, which is what the mystics call the indivisible unity underlying all of life.
Even when the Sun is completely hidden by clouds, even when we close our eyes to it, the Sun always blazes away with the same radiance. Similarly, even if we have done our [self-sabotaging] best for many years to cover up the splendor of the Atman, it is still there, as radiant as ever, in our heart of hearts.”
Posted by: Krishna Jaya | December 21, 2011 at 10:47 AM
Krishna - So glad you liked this and found it to be inspiring. Thanks for reading and for sharing your thoughts.
Posted by: positively present | December 21, 2011 at 12:14 PM