3 Ways to Show Yourself Love This Valentine’s Day
Hot take: Valentine’s Day gets a bad rap. All the focus is on romantic relationships when in actuality we should celebrate all the loving relationships in our lives, including our relationship with ourselves. Here are three ways you can show yourself some love this Valentine’s Day!
Learn your Self-love language: The 5 love languages have been a popular tool for couples to better connect, but did you know you have your own self-love language as well? I’ve had many conversations in the therapy room about what self-care looks like. Thanks to much of the online content and marketing surrounding self-care it can be easy to believe that self-care starts and ends with luxe sweatsuits and skincare. Of course, new loungewear and a face mask can be great acts of self-care, but embracing self-love is much more than just the material items and aesthetics. Taking the time to learn how you best receive love from yourself can make all the difference in your self-care practice.
Practice saying no: This may sound simple, but so many of us have a tendency to people-please. This can show up as taking on extra tasks at work despite already feeling burnout or saying yes to social plans when you’d rather be at home binge-watching TV. Sometimes this behavior can become so common we begin to not even notice. The next time you’re asked to add something onto your plate and you know in your gut you want to say no, I challenge you to actually do so.
What does saying no look like?
Saying “no” can look like saying “I’d love to take on that extra project, but I’m really committed to making sure what I’m working on now meets your expectations. I’m happy to take that on once I’m able to get some of these other tasks off my plate”. Or, it can look like, “Thanks for inviting me out, I can’t make it tonight but I’d love to do something next week.”
Acknowledge what you love about yourself: It can be so easy to fall into the habit of negative self-talk so write yourself a love letter. Take some time to jot down three things you love about yourself. Hold onto the list to revisit during times you feel down on yourself. In those moments you can affirm with yourself the following: “Even though I’m feeling _____ I still love ________ about myself.”
Regardless of if you’re single or taken, you can benefit from celebrating the love you have for yourself. What are you doing to show yourself some love this month?