Within our society we hardly find a program that tells us to love ourselves. Instead, there are many programs telling us to dislike, to doubt, or to question ourselves.
What are our options then? Well, we can become aware of the programs that stand in the way of self love according to the method 'release by observing and understanding'.
Exercise: Stand in front of a mirror. Observe what you dislike about your image and let all sensations be there. Everything is allowed to show up. Do this as long as new sensations are coming up until you have felt all of them completely, especially the unpleasant ones. Repeat this with everything you dislike about your body or image.
This exercise trains our acceptance. Not necessarily acceptance of what is but how we feel about it. This exercise is not meant to keep off action if necessary, e.g. changing our diet if that is better for our health. It is about acceptance of our sensations. The more we allow them to be the way they are the more can we begin to accept ourselves exactly the way we are. Eventually we do like ourselves more and more.
If we train to observe our sensations instead of pushing them away, we learn to be honest with ourselves. Thus, we get to know ourselves a lot better.
And once we start observing ourselves in such a way, then we automatically observe other people in the same manner. We start to see them differently. Maybe we even recognize that separation does not come from us but from such programs that tell us to dislike others and ourselves.
Here is another exercise to overcome such programs: When you meet people somewhere, e.g. on the street, or queueing in the supermarket, or elsewhere, then tell them in your mind: "I am you and you are me."
This exercise can be done with a partner as well: Face each other, look into each other's eyes and say to each other simultaneously for a couple of minutes: "I am you and you are me."
These exercises are useful to overcome the separation and to dissolve the ego. Separation leads to strife, but separation is illusion. Basically, we are all connected.
You are perfect exactly the way you are.