We often think negatively about ourselves.

We hold ourselves to unreachable standards and become disappointed and upset when we fall short, perpetuating a cycle of self-hatred. I've been caught in that cycle before, and it's not fun. I can still get caught, but now, I spend much less time there and my relationship with myself has changed drastically.

I attribute a lot of that transformation to a few lessons I learned from Ram Dass.

Lesson 1: Allow Your Flaws

Allowing your flaws is a lesson I never thought I needed.

I always believed if I refused to allow them that I would overcome them with willpower, but boy was I wrong!

Allowing them has helped me see them from a non-judgmental, loving perspective.

Lesson 2: Accept Your Flaws

Accepting my flaws was another thing I refused to do.

I believed if I accepted my flaws that I was indeed a flawed human being who didn't care about personal growth. Again, I was wrong.

Acceptance has softened the agitation I experience when flaws arise. With that softening, I've been able to dissect my flaws and begin to change them.

Lesson 3: Love Your Flaws

Who wants to love their flaws?

No one really. But I've learned if you can love your flaws, you can truly love yourself. Why? Because we're all flawed, and we'll never be perfect.

So why not just love them all?