"I Love You!"

When is the last time someone said to you, "I love you"?  Today?  A few days ago?  A week?  A month?  A year?  Never?

My guess is, most of us don't hear those three words nearly enough, if at all? And, let's face it, they may be the three most important words in any language.

So here's what I want you to do.  I want you to say to yourself, "I love you." Pretty simple, huh?  Who should love you more than you?  No one.  Right?

If it helps, go to the mirror in your bathroom.  Look at yourself directly in the eye and say, "I love you."  And when you say it, mean it.

Sounds hokey, doesn't it?  I know, I know.  You think I've really flipped.  You think I've taken this "love yourself thing" too far.  But I promise you, I'm serious.  If you can't go to the bathroom mirror right now and say "I love you" to yourself, and mean it, then you need to work on that.  You need to practice it.  Practice it a lot.

Practice makes perfect.  The first time you look yourself in the eye and say, "I love you," you'll probably burst out laughing.  You'll probably feel like an absolute idiot.  You'll probably wonder, who is this Rick fool telling me in his blog I should say "I love you" to myself?

I'm just someone who knows how hard-won learning to love yourself really is, that's all.  And I promise, if you can stop the clatter in your mind long enough each day--maybe first thing in the morning, when you step out of the shower, and start getting yourself ready for work--and really focus on how you feel about yourself, saying it will get easier.  A lot easier, if you make a point of doing it.

Right now, all you can think about is the next thing.  All the things you have to do. All the people you need to meet.  All the places you need to go.  But none of those is more important than being present for yourself, just a few moments each day, to tell yourself, "I love you."  I can't think of anything more important.

Here's what happens when you do it.  You refocus your energy on yourself and not on someone or something else.  You make a commitment to be your own priority.  You recognize the value you have in your own life.  Maybe not at first. But you will.  You really will.      

So, go.  Go do it.  Stand in front of a mirror and say to the person looking back at you, "I love you."  Then you can't feel badly because no one said it to you today. Then, when I ask you, who said "I love you" to you today, you can answer, "I did." Because you should.

So simple.  Doesn't cost a dime.  You can do it.  Take that leap into your new and better future.    

Do it.  Go ahead.  Do it now.