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Having love in life is important to happiness. I’m not referring to the romantic kind of love with another person, but the inner love you have for you.

Do you love yourself?

Do you like yourself?

Loving and liking yourself is as important to life success as the air you breathe. Having self love provides confidence in the decisions you make. It’s self love that provides the trust in your own judgment, and the ability to make mistakes and admit to them, without feeling demeaned.

Many of us go through our lives caught up in the external world around us. Our work lives, our family lives, and our social lives consume most of our energy and attention. It can feel very fulfilling having such a full life.

My question is this…. What happens when change occurs? When a marriage dissolves, a loved one becomes critically ill, a job is lost, or a child is extremely troubled and in need of help?

When faced with extreme challenges, some people rise above and are able to make their way through the pain, the confusion, and the profound grief and turmoil with an inner strength.

Others crumble under the weight of the pain; blaming themselves and carrying guilt like a mantle.

Why?

I believe it’s the inner love life that allows people to thrive through change and difficulty.

It’s the love within that provides the resilience, the strength, and a trust for oneself to get through hardship and pain.

Are you strong in this love area? How do you strengthen love for yourself?

The primary step to building self love is getting to know yourself and accepting yourself for who you really are.

Yes, you have faults. So does everyone.

Yes, you may not be the easiest person to live with. Who is??

Many people have learned to wear a mask in order to get along in their world.

Here’s the first step for self love…remove your mask. Removing the mask a little at a time and allowing your real self to shine through is a gift to yourself and to the people in your life.

Spend time alone with your thoughts and feelings, journal on a regular basis to express things you may have difficulty expressing aloud, and trust that your inner self is worthy, valuable, and important are fundamental to building self love.

Self love isn’t something people normally think about. Some have shut off that inner valve of love in order to keep their external life moving smoothly. Is that really living? I don’t believe it is.

The sense of confidence that self love provides is something you and everyone in your external world will benefit from. Remove the mask. Love the real you.

Self love is worth your time!

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Lisa Avedon is senior brand strategist at IdeaWorks, a hybrid brand strategy | innovation firm in Columbus, OH. She's a big picture idea producer who leverages insights and innovative thinking into inspired creative solutions; all of which makes her a very happy person. Lisa is a speaker and author, and she blogs about single parenthood and the need for self compassion for the national publication Working Mother Magazine under the title "Mom, Inc."

Connect with her via LinkedIn, and follow her on Twitter @IDAWorks.

For more information, please visit ideaworksbmc.com