Love Your Neighbor as You Love Yourself

Some version of the title of today's blog—known as The Great Commandment—appears in the Christian Bible nine times (my search was done on Bible Gateway using the Amplified Bible). 

It appears twice in Leviticus and the Gospel of Matthew and once in the Gospels of Mark and Luke and in Romans, Galatians, and James.  The second time it appears in Leviticus the love we should have refers to "the stranger who resides with you."  This profound saying is familiar to Christians and non-Christians alike.

There are two sides to this profound idea.  First, we are to love our neighbors and strangers.  As a species, we are connected as neighbors and strangers like never before in recorded history.  From the geopolitical to the boardroom, from the C-suite to the front-line, from statehouses to our federal government, and in our schools, churches, shops, and on and on—it seems we could live and work with a bit more love, compassion, understanding, basic respect, non-violence, and empathy, like never before.

It's the other side of this proverbial saying that has always been so powerful for me and it's the side that's  easy to overlook or forget.  If we are to love our neighbors unconditionally, generously, or compassionately, we will need to love ourselves that way too!  This is especially important for leaders today if we are to lead effectively.

If your definition of success does not have some aspect of love in it—get another definition.

ROBERT HOLDEN
Success Intelligence

What rituals or practices do you engage in on a daily, weekly, or cyclical basis that promote self-care or self-love?

Some Ways to Promote Self-Care & Self-Love

• Take  care of your basic physical needs
• Exercise, practice yoga, or engage  in a martial art
• Identify & practice your own, unique core values
• Discover & practice your purpose, calling, or vocation
• Practice mindfulness
• Each morning, set & focus on your top three priorities
• Take time to identify your emotions
• Give yourself permission to have alone or me-time
  
• Forgive yourself
• Set healthy boundaries
• Identify beliefs from your childhood that no longer serve you today
• Choose one of your core values and set an intention to live it more fully or in new ways today

• Spend time in nature
  
• Adopt a passionate, moral commitment to grow & learn
  
• Keep a daily gratitude journal
• Before you go to sleep, review your day & celebrate how you have successfully lived your values & mission
• Convert your automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) into language you would use with a good friend
• Identify your strengths & what you're good at
• Look at a childhood photo of yourself & list all of the good qualities you had as a child & what that child could teach you today
• Give yourself permission to be happy
• Engage in some type of daily reflection, contemplation, or prayer ritual

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Have an amazing journey today!

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Alan Mikolaj is a coach and leadership development consultant with 15+ years of experience.  He is passionate about helping leaders transform their leadership, their teams, and their organizations.  Impactful, professional approach driven by a passion for meaning and purpose, a growth mindset, and a commitment to excellence and service in order to drive change and results.

Alan maintains the ethics and standards of behavior established by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), including the standards regarding confidentiality.  You can learn more about them on the ICF website.

Impactful change starts with a conversation!
Schedule your free, one-hour session by clicking here: Discovery Conversation with Alan
Or call or email me: Contact Page

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