When was the last time you felt a quiet sense of warmth toward yourself—not for achieving anything, not for getting through another busy day, but simply because you exist? For most people, that kind of self-love is rare, even uncomfortable.

We’re so used to being “a work in progress” that the idea of simply being enough, exactly as we are, feels foreign. Even life coaches and gurus will tell – you need to practice acceptance and self-love – one more thing to do before you get there.

Somewhere along the line, we bought into this idea that we need more self-improvement, more practices, more strategies. Spoiler: we don’t.

What we actually need is less of the idea that we’re incomplete, and maybe a little less of the constant striving to become someone we’re not.

Today, I want to invite you to consider looking at yourself not as a problem to be solved or a project to be improved upon, but to look at yourself simply as an entity that eats, sleeps, breathes and lives by doing whatever makes sense for it to do.

You’re just here, reading this, breathing, and soon, you will probably be eating or talking to someone or falling asleep and dreaming. Just be here, take a moment and acknowledge this reality of your being.

When you do that, you will notice a surprising kind of quiet there. In that quiet, you start to see yourself as you really are—minus all the stories about who you should become, minus the endless fine-tuning.

Because here’s the reality—there’s no grand finish line where you get handed your “worthy” badge. You’re just going to live for a while and then die.

The true relief of being in love with yourself isn’t hidden behind some shiny, perfect version of yourself. It’s realizing you’re here to enjoy being alive, and there’s nothing to fix.

With all my love,

Rishi