Most of us are familiar with the saying, "What have you done for me lately?" But how many of us have asked this question of ourselves? What have you done for "You" lately? Not for your children or your spouse, not for your in-laws or for the neighbors... "You!" When was the last time you treated yourself to something you love?

A married woman would buy herself a beautiful bouquet of flowers every Saturday. The flowers were always fresh and colorful in the spring and summer. She was once asked why she didn't ask her husband to buy her flowers since she liked them so much. Her reply was, "Why would I wait for my husband to buy me something that I can buy for myself. I enjoy the flowers so much and feel I deserve them, so I treat myself instead of waiting for someone else to treat me."

The woman's answer, while simple, is profound. She demonstrated self-love by caring for herself and treating herself to what she loved and wanted in her life. Ultimately, her message is: Love yourself the way you want to be loved. Self-love is essential in getting what you want.

In the popular book, The Secret, written by Rhonda Byrne, contributor, Michael Bernard Beckwith says: "To not love ourselves can keep what we want from us. When we don't love ourselves, we are literally pushing things away from us."

Dr. Beckwith goes on to say "... to transmit the highest frequency of love, you must love yourself."

When you give yourself all the love and care you wish from others, you will attract more love and what you desire. When we don't think we deserve love, or the things that make us happy, then they will never appear in our life.

• Why do we wait to use the good china?
• Why do we wait to buy a new outfit or nice perfume and then never wear it except perhaps on the holidays?
• Why do we put off vacations and visits with family and time off from work to pursue our dreams and passions?

We forget that we deserve love and offer up excuses as to why we delay caring for and treating ourselves to our dream life.

If presented with your own mortality, what would you regret not having done the most? Not taking that trip to Europe? Not learning to play the piano? Not writing a book?

Doing something for yourself can be as simple as taking time out to read a chapter out of a new book you have been wanting to read or maybe even buying the book in the first place! It might be going back to church or calling up an old friend you have not spoken to in years. A facial, massage, extra long nap or buying a new outfit might also be ways to treat yourself.

So here is your homework – before you go to bed, pick one thing that you can do TODAY just for YOU that demonstrates the love and caring you have for yourself.