Self-love and Self-honesty Are Linked

Many people find it a challenge to love themselves.  I think that could be due to something from childhood which under-minded your precious self-love.  Maybe it was a critical parent, a teacher at school or just plain rejection from classmates.  But do not despair because those old neuro-pathways in our brain can be rerouted and they must be re-routed.  You really do have the courage to do the “shifting” work to become that woman or that man who you really are before situations and difficult relationships undermined your self-awareness and self-respect.

Mental health is intricately involved with self-honesty.  Did you know that?  Outside of a biological depression and anxiety – which can be successfully treated – our self-honesty will let us know when we are in pain, when we are hurting.  Our self-love couples with our self-honesty and kicks our butts to speak up when someone is mean and we tell the person so.

Self love will give us the words to remind our mates to treat us like the treasure we know ourselves to be.  For example I said to my husband just last week, “Honey, please remember to tell me how lovely that dinner was if you like eating here!”  Humor is a marvelous tool of self-love and men enjoy learning through humor not lectures.

Self-love will keep your spirit strong and your self-confidence unshakeable.  Even when you go through painful times – death, divorce, illness, betrayal, your self-love won’t allow you to stop because you will value the importance of your life, even the painful places in it.  Pain causes us to grow; pain enlarges our personality and our compassion for other’s pain.  Or we could always adopt what writer Madeline L’Engle once said, “When I have something to say that is too difficult for adults, I write for children.  They have not closed the shutters.  They like it when you rock the boat.”