LOVE YOURSELF.

In a country where love is preached in every street corner and even from rooftops, everything around us bear imprints of hatred and animosity: broken homes, burnt churches, decapitated bodies, abandoned children, ravaged lands.
The irony bears testimony to one truth: We have not learnt to love.

Not our neighbour and surely not God.

We just enjoy talking and singing about 'love'.

In learning how to love,there is no better place to begin than from within.'Charity',they say,'begins at home.'

And we've been told to love our neighbours as we love ourselves.

So for a start: Love yourself.

Most of us hate ourselves.

This is a truth many deny persistently. If not,how can we explain the palpable frustration on most people's faces? 

Or self-deprecating remarks like 'I'm stupid...I'm a big fool'?

Or the rising prevalence of depression and suicide attempts?

Why will you wish to be someone else if you love yourself?

Huh?

Granted some things about you may not be superb.

You may not have wads of loose cash to spend or have the height or size of your dreams.

But so what?

Love yourself.

Appreciate your uniqueness and what sets you apart.

It is a testament of the wonderful nature of your being.

And remember,you are a co-creator.

So if your circumstances ain't right, go and create the ideal circumstances!

Work hard and make more money.

Get a degree.

Exercise daily till you get that trim body.

Change what you can,enjoy what you can't.

It is quite true that many of us have made terrible mistakes in the past.

And done many things we are not proud of.

But still I urge you: Love yourself.

Those mistakes are necessary components of your life story.

Believe me, unpalatable as they may seem, they've made your life interesting.

And here's the good news: They've been locked away in your past now.

You future does not depend on them, it depends on your present.

So dear, love yourself...

Now.

Loving yourself does not mean lying sprawled on the sofa sixteen hours daily watching TV.

Loving yourself doesn't mean emptying your bank account and spending everything today.

NO!!! 

Loving yourself means appreciating every moment of your existence and developing yourself to full capacity.

Loving yourself means being joyful and happy and passing the same joy and optimism to others.

Loving yourself means recognizing your unique role to humanity and striving to fill it.

Loving yourself means seeing yourself as part of a whole and doing your best to preserve that whole.

If we learn to truly love ourselves, our eyes will be opened.

Then,we can look sideways and love our neighbour.

And together, we will all look up, and come to love our God...the epitome of love.

PLANNING vs. DOING

Many of us love planning.

We are usually thrilled by elaborate plans of the future or an event. Some call it 'positive dreaming'. Others call it 'goal-setting'.

Planning is important. A good plan serves as a map, a guide. 

But planning should be a means to an end, not the end itself.

Planning is good,doing is better.

Your plans do not count as much as what you do.

Having all the maps in the world does not guarantee your getting to any destination.

You must move.

Humanity does not judge you by your plans but by your actions.

Hitler may have had some good plans, but what we remember is his extermination of six million Jews.

Some tips that will help in 'Action-Oriented Planning' includes:

1. Plan with 5% of the time,Execute with 95%: 

Most of us spend the bulk of the allotted time planning, only to find out that we have little or no time to execute those beautiful plans.

Some spend up to 6hrs planning their day!

Spend more time doing than planning.

2. Keep your plans simple: 

Complex,complicated plans usually paralyse every muscle fibre in our body thus inhibiting action.As a rule,simplify,simplify and simplify.

3. Make your plans breakable:
Your plans should be such that you can break it up into simpler,doable pieces.

4. Always measure your progress:
A good plan enables you to measure your progress.

Vague plans like 'To be happy','To be rich' are really not good plans, but good ideas.

Be specific. And measure your progress.

5. Stick to your plan: 

Don't deviate. Don't procastinate. Just execute your plans to the letter.

To the last drop.

Christ had a very simple plan: To do the will of His father. 

He spent each day doing things: healing, teaching, doing good. 

He stuck to His plan to the very end.

He concluded with the definitive statement of a master planner and doer,'It is finished'.

Plan and execute like Him.

Good plans do not work by themselves.

You must make them work.

Plan less,do more.

And you will leave a lasting trail of achievements.