Loving Yourself.
You expect everything from a Silicon Valley business guy. But not a book about the endless journey of loving himself. Still, the truth in his story says it all, in less than 100 pages.
I picked this book because it was recommended in a weekly newsletter. Out of curiosity, I ended up loving it (not as much as I love myself :p).
During difficult and depressing times, Kamal Ravikant focused on 3 steps to pick himself up:
1) Practice the mental Loop
Repeat, while looking yourself in the eyes: "I love myself." Why would you do this? You do it to others.
Have you ever played the same negative thought over and over again? And by playing it so many times it blends with reality? Even if it was real, does the loop help? Probably not.
Thankfully, there are certain loops we can repeat that will bring a sense of peace and kindness towards ourselves. "I love myself". I've been experimenting with this practice and it's been ... weird (?) Which means I need to repeat it more often. It should be everything but weird.
2) Meditate
The practice consists of inhaling, thinking "I love myself" and exhaling. Kamal does it for 7 minutes while listening to the same music. The music works as the trigger for the practice.
I would add: as long as you're meditating, you're doing it right! Personally, I use guided meditations (Calm app) every morning.
3) The Question
“If I love myself truly and deeply, would I let myself experience this?”
The purpose is reflecting deeply on how damaging and harmful the things we do and don't do to ourselves are. Would you be overeating? Not exercising? Not meditating? Not learning? Overthinking? You wouldn't because you love yourself.
Put your oxygen mask first.
“As you love yourself, life loves you back. I don’t think it has a choice either. I can’t explain how it works, but I know it to be true.”