When we think good thoughts and choose the actions that make us feel good, Life provides us with all the evidence we need that we are loved and cared for.

It's what we all wanted when we were children- to be loved and accepted exactly as we were then, not when we got taller or thinner or prettier...and we still want it... but we aren't going to get it from other people until we can get it from ourselves.

Life can't give to you if your hands are closed. Open your mind, open your heart, and open your arms.

I am willing to learn how to take good care of my body.

Loving the self, to me, begins with never ever criticizing ourselves for anything. Criticism locks us into the very pattern we are trying to change. Understanding and being gentle with ourselves helps us to move out of it. Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn't worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.

They will often tell me they can't love themselves because they are so fat, or as one girl put it, 'too round at the edges.' I explain that they are fat because they don't love themselves. When we begin to love and approve of ourselves, it's amazing how weight just disappears from our bodies.

I will not be distracted by noise, chatter, or setbacks. Patience, commitment, grace, and purpose will guide me.