How can you love yourself?

Loving yourself is the beginning of a lifelong love affair. There is a lot to share with others and to expect from others, but the number one in your existence is you yourself. You spend the most time with that person, you can expect the most, demand the most. 

The 10 best Self-Reliance Techniques: 

1. Make the opportunity yourself. 

 If you really want it to happen, you have to do something. Nothing changes without moving, Einstein already knew. Send signals out, to others, to yourself. People who succeed in what they put first do so by taking steps. They may not yet know exactly what they want and where to get it, but that doesn't stop them from going out. 

2. Look at yourself. 

 You have an obligation to take care of yourself. To get the best out of your existence. The most beautiful, the most exciting, the most delicious. This is only possible if you focus on yourself first. Listen, watch, acknowledge yourself and your needs. Honest, critical and loving. That's not to say that you should be unreasonably selfish or inconsiderate of the needs of others. But you have the right to develop and develop yourself. That will create opportunities for yourself and also for others.

3. Approve yourself.

 No doubt it is pleasant to get the approval of others, but don't wait for it. That approval might never come, not in the form you wanted of expected, or too late. Do not let your self-esteem depend on it. You are the best connoisseur of yourself, you know best what is right for you. 

4. Make someone happy. 

 People who have an eye for the needs of others and who do something about them lead happier lives. Do something for someone else regularly. Do something for someone you don't know. Do something for someone and don't disclose it. Selfless giving is a wonderful technique that yields more than it costs.

5. Make friends.

 Most people are good souls with the best of intentions. Strangers are often friends you don't know yet. Tap into the incredible potential of friends and relationships waiting to be discovered. 

6. Don't compare yourself.

 Stop always looking at others: how they are doing. It is pointless, because you can never really know how others are doing and because it will not make any further progress. Look at yourself, be happy with what you see. You will have to make do with it. Accept yourself. It is one of the most liberating gifts you can give to yourself. 

7. Accept your life.

 And especially that it is not perfect. Accept your body, your mind, your circumstances. Even what looks radiant on the outside can feel creaky on the inside. Look at those young, beautiful, wealthy, successful stars who drag themselves on miserably or take their own lives. 

8. Don't expect too much of money.

 Money is money and nothing else. It can never compensate for things that are really important and you certainly cannot buy it with it: health, love, appreciation. It's practical, but never let it be an end in itself. Do what you love to do, do it with passion. The rest follows. Also the money. 

9. Not everyone can like you.

 Do not fish for the love and approval of everyone. They are not going to give it to you. Nor can they. There is such a thing as chemistry. Some people like Madonna, others like Brussels sprouts. How did that happen? That has to do with taste, background, upbringing and so much more. Focus on those who like you and don't bother with the others. It's wasted energy. 

10. Have fun.

 Try to keep or make it pleasant. We are here for a very short time. Too short to deal with negativity too much. Setback is part of life, not the goal of life. Realize that it is part of it, but don't submerge in it. Experience it. Know that it will be fine, and then less well, and then better.

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." - Annie Dillard, American author.