The Golden Rule of Self-Care: Treat Yourself the Way You Want Others to Treat You

Do you treat other people better than you treat yourself? If yes, this is for you.

You're not the only one who would do anything for someone else, but when it comes to yourself, it's tough to even muster an "I like you."

Like 99% of life, though, liking yourself (never mind loving yourself) is easier said than done.

But the 100% truth is that the way you treat yourself, the way you treat others, the way they treat you… it’s all connected.

What you say to and about yourself in front of people speaks to how you think you should be treated.

How you treat yourself when no one's around reinforces your beliefs about who you are.

And who you are is so much more than you can imagine.

How you feel and what you think about yourself is no match for who you really are. Your feelings are not you, not entirely.

Which brings me to something my career coach told me not long ago (her name's Jen and she's awesome, by the way)...

"Treat yourself the way you want others to treat you."

And yeah, I get how frustrating that sounds when you feel like garbage.

I get how easy it is to be hard on yourself.

You're not the only one who's (still) trying to figure themselves out. Trying to feel better, be better, live better.

We could ALL use a little more light. It just depends on the day.

It's why I write what I write:

To help you treat yourself better. To help you love someone else and through that love, start to love yourself better. To bring you sunlight and fresh air on the days you have none left.

You know, for the flowers.

For the new better feelings and things you're trying to grow this month... this year.

Because here's another 100% truth to keep in mind when you're being hard on yourself:

You're not just the flower. You're the whole garden, and not one of your flowers can bloom all year long.

In other words, think of your feelings and thoughts like plants. They can be negative or positive, weeds or flowers. You get to water the ones you want to see thrive.

You're the garden and the gardener.

You're stronger than you feel.

You're free to choose the palette of your emotional sky.

And you're allowed to change, to grow in any direction you really, really want to grow. You're allowed to treat yourself better today than you did yesterday.

You're allowed to feel differently and think differently, to act and do differently.

You're even allowed to bloom from your wounds, to show compassion to the places in your life that hurt the most. And then, like a phoenix, watch yourself rise like you couldn't before.

You can learn to be a friend to yourself.

Treat yourself like someone who loves you would treat you.

If you asked a friend what they thought of you, what might they say? What would they say your strengths are? What do they love most about you? Ask them and find out.

If all you have handy is a mirror, use that to practice new thoughts, the kind that acknowledge the darkness in you but also the light.

You can try a mirror gazing ritual like this one to say nice things to yourself on a nightly basis.

Make self-kindness a habit, and self-forgiveness too, and every aspect of your life will respond. I think it's why this Hawaiian ho'oponopono prayer has helped me so much.

Treat yourself better in private, and you'll carry that confidence and strength with you into the world around you. And people will notice.

. . .

Tell me:

What here did you most need to read today?

Tell me in the comments. I read every single one, and I'd love to know what hit home. 

~ Jen

P.S. Ready to feel better about who you are? Take this poetry print home with you to remember how enough you already are.