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!