Love quest.

• Author: Milan, Sofia
• Position: Psychology

You can "attract more love into your life and realize the happiness and fulfillment you always have dreamed of-and remember, you deserve it."

WHILE most would respond with an emphatic "yes" if asked if they would like more love in their lives, I suspect few people welcome the extent of "work" required to achieve that outcome. Of course, the amount of work involved depends on how far away one feels he or she is from the level of love they desire.

Just like achieving a diet, fitness, or career goal, elevating the amount of love in your life requires commitment, change, vision, and patience-with yourself and with others. Towards this end, it is entirely possible for sentiment-seekers to create a personalized plan to achieve love goals, no matter how short or long of a journey that lies ahead. In the weight-loss analogy, if you want to lose five pounds or 50 pounds, your personal trainer would have different advice for you. Similarly, if you want to increase the amount of love in your life by five percent or 500%, the means to achieve this would be different.

Here are strategies that you can personalize in working toward your love goals, no matter how far along you are on this jubilant journey:

Vet the VIPs. Who is the most important person in your life'? Did you say "me"? If not, it is time to practice self-love and move yourself to the top spot on your VIP list. The most important person in your life must be you. Only you can choose: a side salad over French fries; to react calmly instead of angrily at the driver who cut you off; or surround yourself with positive people who enrich your life versus toxic people who break you down emotionally. I am not suggesting that narcissism is good or giving you a license to be selfish. Just take a lesson from the flight attendants who instruct, "Put your oxygen mask on first before helping others."

Train your brain. Perhaps you have heard about how athletes and other competitors imagine themselves successfully executing their craft with perfection prior to the moment they are expected to perform. Top competitors practice, watch videos of themselves, mentally visualize their success, and practice some more. Similarly, a powerful tool is to visualize the love that you desire, and imagine it in a way so that you actually can feel it. Imagine the warmth and security of an embrace. Feel the joy of spending time laughing with dear friends. Just like an athlete, this will train your brain to make it happen and...