THE SELF-APPROVAL SPRINGBOARD          

          Moments come in our lives when we realize, often through times of crisis or isolation, that our most intimate and powerful relationship, and the one that we can never escape, is our relationship with our inner self.  We need to know, love and understand that inner self.

          No judgment is more important and decisive to us than our valuation of ourselves.  This valuation, in the form of a feeling, colors and permeates our experiences constantly.  It is enmeshed in every emotional response we have.  Our self-valuation, or self-esteem, has profound effects on our emotions, goals, values and our thinking processes themselves.

          To attain what we desire in life -- whether happiness or love or money or success -- we must first feel that those desires are rightfully ours.  If we cannot feel that way, no amount of talent or ability will create that achievement.  Our self-concept must have attained the same level as the goals we desire or we will sabotage ourselves.  Our image of who we are and what is appropriate for us is stronger than an inexperienced desire. 

          Knowing how to love and accept ourselves is the single most important task we are assigned to learn here.  If we don't know how to love and forgive ourselves, we can't love and forgive others.  Maybe you think you can love others without loving yourself, but be assured, you will only hide out inside others until you can face yourself.

        If you don't love, accept and value yourself, you cripple all your efforts.  As within, so without.  What you send out, consciously or unconsciously, you get back.  How you feel about yourself affects every element of your life, including your health, relationships, and prosperity. 

          But when you change yourself inside, your outer world also changes.  When you develop a solid feeling of self-approval and self-trust, you will feel more alive than ever before.  You'll feel like a flower opening in the spring.