Be fully aware of the seera of the Prophet.

Being a Muslim also means doing your part of being fully aware about the life of the man you claim as your final and last Messenger. So first and for most, collect texts (books, articles, or even taught lessons) and being to familiarize yourself with who Muhammad is.

Understanding and acknowledging his sacrifices as a being.

Muhammad’s sacrifice was not a self agenda; in fact, a sacrifice for the future bettering of the Muslims. By understanding the unjust behavior, physical cruelty, mental abandonment, and overbearing tortures of the people that believed in him, will you finally realize how much this man sacrificed for people. And by acknowledge sincerely that these hardships were nothing but for the people who sought for a better life that wished to live in prosperity, humbleness, and justice, will you begin to love him.

Realizing the holiness of Muhammad.

When one begins to realize how irrevocably kind and just this man was to everyone, you fathom his holiness. No, he was not more than a human. But this part of him that was so pure and perfect of him is what made him the Messenger of God. And once you realize this, you begin to truly love him.

Muhammad is beyond our perception of perfection.

The Prophet (SAW) was so pure that his jinn was even a Muslim. That just comes to portray the purity of this man’s soul and his sincere intention in bettering the lives of humanity. When you begin to truly understand that there is no personality like Muhammad’s - peace be upon him and his family - is when you begin to love him more than your own self.

So what do I get out of loving the Prophet more than my own self?

Anas b. Mâlik relates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “If anyone possesses three qualities, he will experience the sweetness of faith: That Allah and His Messenger are dearer to him than anything else, that he loves another person solely for Allah’s sake, and that he hates lapsing into unbelief as much as he would hate being cast into the fire.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (15) and Sahîh Muslim(60)]