Have your learned to love? Learning to love is a continuous effort. You must love yourself before you can love anyone else or expect to have a happy relationship with others. There are 11 factors that you need to realize in learning to love:
1) Possibility: Devoting yourself to loving yourself and others. If you are broken, you can't very well devote time and have the physical capacity to love.
2) Commitment: Actions speaks louder than words. If you do not have the will or the wish or the dedication, it will never happen.
3) Patience: Having the patience to handle the low or hard times. Having confidence to weather the storm. Opening yourself to love means being vulnerable and accepting another unconditionally. It takes effort.
4) Model: Whether it is from family, friends, religion a mentor, a role model or even books, we model our behavior after those who influence us.
5) Discipline: Practice practice practice....makes perfect. Even when you don't feel like loving, you must push yourself through it and always remember to keep at it.
6) Persistence: Having confidence and having faith in the process of learning takes persistence. Something might not be easy for you now or you might not 'get it', but eventually you will.
7) Environment: Only a safe place to learn, making mistakes, trying it again and practice are always needed. Love needs freedom and the ability to express feelings.
8) Goals: Staying focused on the present is important. If you get caught up in worrying about where you're headed, you can easily get lost.
9) Instrument: You cannot love without an object for affection. Doesn't necessarily mean a romantic relationship...friends, family, pets, God, ourselves, human kind.
10) Confidence: Refers to accepting where you are in your learning to love. You can't expect to be a master immediately. Learning takes time and maybe mistakes along the way.
11.) To love is to be willing to be hurt: My reader Ronnie, pointed out this last factor. He is right.
One way or another we all have to experience hurt of some kind. The end of a relationship in whatever capacity.
In my own life, I try to love like I've never been hurt. That way, I don't compare and bring any negative energy to a relationship. Thanks Ronnie!
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Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle...
