When I Learned to Love Myself

When I learned to love myself... - a text from the internet, often attributed to Charlie Chaplin (speech on his 70th birthday) .. but disputed by Wikiquote - the text shows many similarities with quotes from the book "When I loved myself enough" by Kim & Alison McMillen (2001).

1 AUTHENTICITY When I learned to love myself, I recognized that soul pain and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I am living against my own truth. Today I know, this is "BEING ONESELF".

2 RESPECT When I learned to love myself, I understood how much it can affect someone when I try to impose my wishes on them, especially when I actually know that the timing is not right and that person is not ready - and this also applies when that person is myself. Today I call this "RESPECT".

3 MATURITY When I learned to love myself, I stopped longing for a different life, and I could see that everything around me invites me to grow. Today I call this "MATURITY".

4 SELF-CONFIDENCE When I learned to love myself, I understood that I am always in the right place at the right time under all circumstances and that everything happens exactly at the right time. From then on, I could be calm. Today I call this "SELF-CONFIDENCE".

5 SIMPLICITY When I learned to love myself, I stopped stealing my own time, and I stopped designing big future projects. Today I only do what brings me joy and makes me happy, things I love to do and that make my heart laugh - and I do them in my own way and in my own rhythm. Today I call this "SIMPLICITY".

6 LOVE OF ONESELF When I learned to love myself, I freed myself from everything that is not healthy for me - people, things, food, situations - and from everything that pulls me down and away from myself. At first, I called this attitude a "HEALTHY EGOISM". Today I know, this is "SELF-LOVE".

7 MODESTY When I learned to love myself, I stopped wanting to always be right, and since then I have made far fewer mistakes. Today I have discovered, this is "MODESTY".

8 FULFILLMENT When I learned to love myself, I refused to continue living in the past and worrying about the future. Now I live only for this moment, where EVERYTHING happens. Today I live each day simply day by day, and I call it "FULFILLMENT".

9 WISDOM OF THE HEART When I learned to love myself, I recognized that my thinking can disturb me, make me restless and sick. But when I connected it with my heart, my mind became a valuable ally. Today I call this connection "WISDOM OF THE HEART".

10 LIFE We no longer need to fear arguments, confrontations, or any kind of problems with ourselves or others. Even stars collide, and from their collision, new worlds are born.
Today I know, THIS IS "LIFE"!

Original translation: Wolfgang Zeitler 2009 - modified by Martin Kopp
The English original text is easy to find on the internet, the German translations are contradictory. This is a translation as faithful as possible