For some of us, the idea of loving ourselves is awkward, daunting, or even offensive. So let’s not start there. Let’s start with the reasons we love other people.

Anatomy of a Crush

At some time in our lives, all of us have had at least one “crush.” Some of these are clearly romantic or erotic in nature, but some are ambiguous or difficult to classify. Sometimes we can be slightly obsessed with a person but have no desire whatsoever for physical intimacy with them.

For our purposes here I’m going to define a “crush” as any overwhelming feeling of admiration for a person: an almost compulsive desire to be near them, listen to them, look at them. It’s a feeling of being drawn to someone so powerfully that simply thinking about them constitutes a pastime.