Life Is Like a Box Of Chocolates...

I've just spent the weekend at a workshop learning how to take better care of myself - how to be more loving towards me.  You know, I've been doing personal growth work for years.  I started on this path when I was 10 years old when my mother taught me self-hypnosis.  I've been doing hard-core personal growth for the past 10 years now and I'm only just now beginning to understand all this "stuff" about loving yourself.  It's pretty simple actually. 

For everything you do during the day, ask yourself "if my friend were doing this to themselves, would I think that was a loving thing to do?"  In other words, if your friend were working 12 hour workdays and taking no time off, would you be happy with that? If your friend ate takeout instead of cooking healthy meals, would that be OK too?  If he didn't sleep enough?  If she ignored her marriage and her family to spend time with clients?  If he never asked for help no matter how much he needed it?  If she sabotaged her financial future by overspending and failing to plan for tax season?  What if your friend were drinking too much? 

Look at your life from the outside in.  What things are you doing to yourself that you wouldn't want to see a friend doing?  Then change those things.  You'll be surprised at how much a difference just a few shifts can make. 

For me, I spent the weekend looking out for myself.  If I knew something was going to be emotionally challenging, then I arranged to have someone there to catch me.  I made sure I got enough sleep, that I had a comfortable place to sit during the exercises, and that I ate enough to keep me going, but not so much that I felt over-full.  I asked for help when I needed it.  I asked for hugs.  And was willing to allow people to be there for me, to help me for a change. 

There's nothing that can feed you more when you're depleted than having someone else take care of you - in little ways - for a while.  I highly recommend it.

Kelle Sparta is the author of The Consultative Real Estate Agent - Building Relationships that Create Loyal Clients, Get More Referrals, and Increase Your Sales, as well as  being a speaker and trainer specializing in the real estate industry.  Kelle is the founder of Sparta Success Systems, a real estate training company that provides tools, products, and training to empower agents and brokers to create lives and businesses they can love.  For more information, visit her website at http://www.spartasuccess.com/. © 2007, Kelle Sparta.