With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching it’s nearly impossible not to feel completely inundated with images of doting couples. If you’re one of the millions who find themselves in a happy and loving relationship, the holiday likely leaves you with all kinds of warm and fuzzy feelings. However, if you’re instead one of the millions that doesn’t happen to fall into that category this year, or any year, you might be feeling left out in the cold with a great deal of ambivalence or worse, resentment, towards the holiday. I know I certainly did for the first 18 years of my life when I scarcely received valentines from my classmates, let alone from my crushes!
As each year passes, I realize more and more how important it is to remove any expectations I have for the day and to find ways to be, for lack of a better term, my own Valentine. I’ve found the best way to do this, not only in February but throughout the entire year, is to find ways to practice self-love in my daily life.
The term “self-love” is rather all-encompassing and means something different to each and every one of us. Broadly speaking, I view self-love not as being overly and selfishly wrapped up in feeding one’s ego like some are inclined to think, but instead as being focused on seeking out ways to nurture and care for oneself as a means for encouraging health and personal growth. In my own life, I have found that the best way to infuse a little self-love into my day to day is by treating myself to something special, kind and unexpected.
Treating yourself, by very definition, is a bit like choosing your own adventure. No two of us are exactly alike, therefore no two of us have the same definition for what taking special care of ourselves means. Today I’m not only sharing four of my favorite ways to treat myself and encourage self-love but also a special discount code to help all of you smile brighter in the year ahead!
Stop Playing the Comparison Game
You know that old adage about how comparison is the thief of joy? Well, it’s accurate. In fact, I have found it to be one of the truest lessons I’ve learned as I age, and it isn’t getting any less relevant. The more globally connected we become, the easier it is to fall into the trap of playing the comparison game. Thanks to social media, we aren’t only inundated with perfect airbrushed images of how life “should” be when we flip open a magazine or turn on our television, we’re also confronted with it when casually scrolling through Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.
With the rise of lifestyle businesses, brands and, yes, blogs, it’s easier than ever to compare our own realities with the pretty, shiny and perfect ones we see on screen. The truth is, those inspirational lives aren’t any more real than the drama you see on reality TV. They’re carefully curated depictions of a tiny fraction of somebody’s day and life and should not be taken as a full representation of their actual reality.
No matter how great somebody’s life seems on the outside, they’re undoubtedly dealing with their own struggles. Nobody has it all, regardless of how much it might look like it when you’re scrolling through their Instagram. We all have to make hard choices and we all have to make sacrifices. We all make mistakes, we all make fools of ourselves, and we all get our hearts broken from time to time. Comparing your very tangible reality with a false representation of somebody else’s will only lead to unnecessary feelings of disappointment and inadequacy. It’s a waste of time, it’s a waste of energy and it’s a waste of brain capacity. Instead, when you feel envy begin to creep in, try to remind yourself that you’re not seeing the complete, full picture and try shifting your thoughts to feelings of gratitude for your own blessings.
Enjoy a Tech-Free Day/Evening/Hour
In this day and age, it’s next to impossible to completely withdraw from technology, even for a short period of time. We live in a world where constant connection isn’t a choice, it’s a way of life. This interconnectivity undoubtedly brings a lot of good into our lives, like all of you having the ability to read this post from various corners of the world, but it also comes at a cost.
While I understand that staying connected is a part of a lot of our jobs, it is so incredibly beneficial to completely disconnect every now and then. The more devices we have in hand, the more that unrelenting feeling of, “Go, go, GO!” prevails and the more detached we become from our true needs and desires.
For me, removing all technology from my life for a period of time, even if it’s just an hour, generally brings with it a great deal of clarity. If I’m struggling with a decision or feeling burnt out, often times I’ll put away my phone, turn off my laptop and television, and focus on being present. Nine times out of ten, that simple act of disengaging brings me the answers and peace I’m searching for.
Immerse Yourself in Nature
As a busy city-dweller, I find that I can go an entire work-week without really setting foot outside and breathing in fresh air. My days tend to go something like this; I leave my underground parking garage and drive directly to my office where I pull into another underground parking garage. I then ride an elevator up a 19-story building and sit in my office for the next 9 hours. At the end of the day, I take an elevator back down to the underground parking garage, drive home and spend several more hours working. Do you see a problem here? It simply isn’t healthy, or natural for that matter, to go days on end without breathing in fresh air and feeling the sun against your skin.
When I’m feeling down and in need of a reset, I find that going for a walk, a hike, or doing something as simple as sitting outside and enjoying a cup of coffee, can make a huge difference. There’s something about being in nature, even in the middle of a city, that puts things back in perspective and makes you remember how small and, for lack of a better word, insignificant your struggles really are. Those looming deadlines and the stress of day to day life have a way of melting away when you take the time to slow down and stop and smell the roses.
Smile Bigger and Brighter
Now that we have discussed some ways to nourish ourselves internally, let’s focus for a moment on how we can feel more confident about the face that we present to the world. I don’t know about you, but I find that I feel a lot surer of myself when I know that my smile is bright and white. After years of sampling various over the counter whitening products, I finally found one that delivers the professional-strength results I desire at the budget-friendly price I require.
Smile Brilliant’s teeth whitening system was created by dental professionals after they realized that the cost of traditional treatments could be cut down over 70% by removing the trip to the dentist’s office from the equation. With just the click of a mouse, Smile Brilliant’s teeth whitening trays offer the same results you find in the dentist’s chair at a fraction of the price.
The company’s teeth whitening system arrives with everything you need to achieve a stain-free smile. Their kits include the materials required to create custom whitening trays along with whitening gel and optional desensitizing gel. Their system couldn’t be easier to use – simply take impressions of both your top and bottom teeth, send them off to Smile Brilliant, and wait for your special-made trays to arrive in the mail.
Once you receive your trays you can whiten in the privacy of your own home at whatever frequency and intensity works best for your lifestyle. In need of some serious stain-removing power? Then select from the various strengths of their Non-Sensitive System. If you’re like me and find that tooth sensitivity is an issue, you might be better suited for their Sensitive System that includes Desensitizing Gel along with Whitening Gel.
The best part about Smile Brilliant’s system? The fact that once you purchase it and go through the process once, it’s incredibly easy and cost-effective to maintain your white smile in the future. If at any time you find yourself in need of a touch up simply order a gel-only kit for a quick and easy refresh. If you still aren’t convinced of the stellar results you’ll receive, be sure to check out YouTuber Danielle Mansutti’s experience with the system. Her results are incredible!
In an effort to help all of you achieve your whitest and brightest smiles in the new year, Smile Brilliant is offering Musings on Momentum readers 5% off any of their systems. Simply follow this link to Smile Brilliant’s site and enter the code “musingsonmomentum” at checkout to activate your discount.
Do you find yourself loving or dreading Valentine’s Day? What are your favorite ways to treat yourself both for the holiday and year round?
+ This post is in collaboration with Smile Brilliant. All opinions are my own.