If you truly love yourself, you will…

Take the actions required for your happiness. Remember, you are responsible for your own happiness. As much as it is convenient to leave your happiness to someone else, it just doesn’t work. The fantasy of the prince on a white horse, the rescuer, the one who will discover you and give you all you deserve is just that — a fantasy. Don’t waste time expecting that someone or something outside you will come and bring you happiness. Take action now! One small step at a time, do daily things that bring you joy, that make you smile, that leave you with a positive feeling and the sense of being empowered.

Cut yourself loose from your drama-filled past. Maybe your past is chock-full of drama, difficulties, and tough situations. All that’s real. All that’s yours. But there’s no use sticking to it and not letting go. Acknowledge it, accept it, look back in a compassionate way and make your decision to leave it where it belongs — in the past. Give yourself three days to grieve and then let go. Leave it behind you and move forward.

Set a high standard for relationships. Are you looking for love? Do you long to be in a relationship? Do you crave being with someone who will recognize the true you and love you for who you are? Don’t look any further! Start with yourself! Give yourself what you think you need from someone else, what you believe someone else should give you. Frankly, if you don’t love yourself enough, how do you expect someone else to do that? Decide on a set of standards for your relationships; respect, communication, acceptance, tolerance, sincerity should be some basic things you deserve. If you don’t find them in a relationship, then it’s not right for you.

Feed your mind and body in a healthy manner. Are you in the habit of feeding yourself with junk? Are you giving yourself too much junk food, too much food or alcohol or substances that in the long run don’t serve you? Are you feeding yourself with irritation, anger, negative thoughts, low expectations, and bad relationships? Think again! If you want to be healthy, if you want to be calm, collected, and successful, then you need to pay attention to your “diet.” Diet is not just the food you consume, it’s the thoughts, the emotions, the news, the social media content, all that stuff you surround yourself with. Be mindful!

Forgive yourself. If you truly love yourself, then you can forgive yourself for your past omissions, mistakes, and errors. You should let go of the past and cut yourself some slack. That was then and this is now. Maybe you made some wrong choices. Perhaps you were misinformed. Or you were plain impulsive or even stupid. That’s in the past. Don’t hang on to it, it’s not going to help you crying over spilt milk. Acknowledge your wrongdoings. Forgive yourself. Let it go. Live in the present.

Move on. You need to love yourself enough to be able to make a new start. To move on. Hanging on in the past or letting your past mistakes define you is not going to help. Redefine yourself. Set new goals, fresh priorities, a new life destination. It’s never too late. There’s a lot you can do once you accept you can move forward. Just go ahead and do it. Leave the past in the past and live in the present, for the present is a gift offered to you.