Loving Yourself: Four Steps to a Happier You

by Daphne Rose Kingma

All the self-help books and advice, all the therapy and support groups, even the most fabulous, successful career in the world won't really help at all--until we learn to love ourselves. In Loving Yourself , Daphne Kingma claims that until we practice loving ourselvesand it takes a lot of practicewe will never be able to love others fully and completely. She writes, "When we haven't learned how to love ourselves well, we keep getting stuck on this simple first rung of the laddernot knowing how or how well to treat others, having problems with what we call boundaries, stumbling in the swamps of low self-esteem and thickets of self-loathing that derail us in our efforts to 'love others as we love ourselves'." For so many of us, loving ourselves is our greatest emotional problem. Kingma points out that selflove is not narcissism, egotism, greed, self-righteousness, self-involvement, stubbornness, or conceit--all of which have given genuine selflove a bad name. "Rather, it is the singing spring from which we become who we were--each one of usmost truly meant to be." Reading Loving Yourself , the reader takes a journey to their selves--a journey of how they lost their selves, and thereby their ability to love their selves. Kingma names six life themes including abandonment, neglect, and abuse that help readers identify themes in their lives and decide what to do with these themes as they discover them. No matter what the reader's wound or life story is, Kingma shows--with gentle patience and intelligent advice--how each of us can start to love ourselves through a simple fourstep

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction

177 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2004

Reviews

[Maria Almaguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little book with a huge message, at least for me. Beautiful, peaceful, and true.

[Scented Pages · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. Sort of basic information I already knew.1. Speak out: Speaking up for yourself and speaking on your own behalf. 2. Act out: Do something different. 3. Clear Out: Make space in your mind and living quarters for new by cleaning out the old. 4. Set Out: Take action on your path.

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concepts are good, the examples and pieces of advice feel outdated. Still some helpful takeaways and reminders of themes I’ve already been working on during my self help book tour :)

[Mary]

Super helpful

[Jagan]

hate it.

[Sally · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not only did the presentation not appeal to me, I felt that some of the advice was harmful/ill advised and encouraged self-centeredness rather than self love.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think this is as well-written as Coming Apart, but it is about a very important topic and you can overlook the typos and focus on the message.

[Jagan]

Hate it.

[Sarah Butland · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of stories and advice on how to improve your outlook on life. Put into action, I'm sure all of the steps combined will definitely make a difference to all who read and follow through with it.