How many of us can truly say we have deep love for ourselves with no strings attached. Many of us believe we need to do more or achieve more before we are worthy of that kind of love. We need to get the degree, get the promotion, get the partner, save this much money.

On top of that, we often take that self-criticism or impossible standards and apply it to others. And we see that pattern in the people around us too.

If the world feels short on empathy, maybe the place to start is with ourselves.