Many years ago—years that feel more like lifetimes—I dated a guy who was all wrong for me. I refused to see it at the time. Belligerent beyond reason, I refused to admit it, even ten, fifteen, twenty years later.

On any given day I could give you a list of lame reasons why we were together. A list that could aptly be called, “Leslie’s List of Justifications.” The truth is, although I may have started dating him for reasons similar to why many couples start dating, I stayed with him years beyond reason, for one simple fact:

I didn’t love myself enough to break the bad habit of “us.” No. It’s simpler than that. I didn’t love myself enough. Period.

It’s so true what Steve Jobs said about connecting dots:  “…you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.” As I read the words I wrote in my own book, they appear so simple, so almost duh-like: Continue Reading