A Seinfeld Lesson

In an episode of Seinfeld, Jerry meets a woman when she saves his life. Quickly, Jerry realizes she's a lot like him (her name is even similar, Jeannie Steinman). They get engaged, but Jerry quickly calls off the wedding.

He explains it all to Kramer, “All of a sudden it hit me, I realized what the problem is; I can't be with someone like me—I hate myself! If anything, I need to get the exact opposite of me. It's too much. It's too much, I can't take it . . . I can't take it!”

Are you the kind of person you would want to be friends with? Spend time with? Work with? Work for? At the end of the day, we have to at least like ourselves. So what does that look like? This is just my take on this, but I am sure more can be added to these tips. 

• Do the right thing. Be the kind of person you would respect, look up to, celebrate. Do it with your actions and your words. Honesty, integrity, and loyalty in our decisions means less stress, regret, and self-loathing. 

• Be positive. How we talk to ourselves matters. We should be our own personal cheerleader, celebrating our accomplishments (small and large) and encouraging ourselves to do and be better next time if we fail in some way.

• Make time for ourselves. Many of us live our lives for others—which is noble. We should also take time to do the things we want to do, even if we have to do it alone. We should also pamper and indulge ourselves from time to time.