What Hurricane Sandy Can Teach Us About Love

Hurricane Sandy has brought a lot pain and heartache to the East Coast. For the rest of us who are physically untouched by the storm, we can't help but feel for the people who've lost their homes and their way of life.

Those of us who've remained unscathed can use this difficult and heart-wrenching experience as an opportunity to look at our lives. It's a wake up call to ask ourselves if we're making of life all that we can. Are we moving towards the love we want or away from it? Are we able to love more?

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If you knew something was going to happen that would throw your life into chaos, would that change the decisions and choices you're making around love?

If you consider that everyday you make hundreds of decisions that either enhance your life and bring you more love — or the opposite; how would you score yourself?

One of the six essential steps in my book It's Never Too Late To Marry is "Take Yourself Seriously." This might seem like an easy step, but it's not. This was one of the biggest lessons I had to learn and unless life is challenging us with disaster, we sometimes just take our lives for granted.

Taking yourself seriously requires that we make ourselves and our well-being a priority. This requires looking honestly at how we're living everyday and asking ourselves if we are just skating along and just let things just happen or are we taking actions to love more? It's the difference between a life where you'll have regrets or a life that moves you forward towards love and happiness.

We all want to love more in our lives but do we take that idea seriously? Do we do things each day that increase our capacity for love?

Here are some ways you may be not taking yourself seriously and missing out on love:

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• Staying in an unfulfilling relationship because you're afraid to be alone;
• Ignoring your interests and desires for the sake of someone else;
• Wanting to meet a man but never putting yourself out into the world to meet him;
• Knowingly sublimating your desire for love with shopping, alcohol or food;
• Blaming men, society or where you live for not being able to find love; and,
• Refusing to take responsibility for the lack of love in your life.

Each day is filled with choices, and we need to take them seriously. Like ripples in a pond, each choice we make creates an effect in our lives. How you spend your time is crucial to your happiness and your ability to love.

More love advice from YourTango:

• 25 Romantic Ways To Say 'I Love You'
• 5 Ways To Be Happy About Your Love Life Right Now!
• Why Can't I Find A Relationship?