Show Yourself Some Love This Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day. What does this day mean to you?

The good? It’s a day to celebrate the love for your significant other. The bad? It’s a “Hallmark Holiday” forcing you to spend your hard earned money to satisfy your spouse’s desire to feel special. The ugly? You don’t have a Valentine, and this day brings out a spiteful, eye rolling version of yourself that you’d prefer to hide from society until the sun rises again on February 15th.

I feel that Valentine’s Day has a potential to be a magnificent day, if it were more about presence and less about presents. I see two flaws with “V-Day”: 
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1.      Love should be emphasized more than just once a year 
2.      Doting on others is great, but what about loving ourselves?

What if we all decided to do things a little differently this year, and opted out of asking another person to “Be Mine” and instead ask yourself to be your own Valentine? ​

​Self-love is something we read about on occasion, but seems too impractical to adopt in our lives, right? I mean, how could we possibly love and accept ourselves unconditionally with all of these flaws? The list of mistakes we make is infinite. The amount of bad habits we have are staggering. And yet despite this, I am challenging you all to choose yourself as your Valentine this year.

I’m suggesting you create a compelling reason why you would be the perfect Valentine. Make a list of all the things you love about yourself. Take a moment to celebrate the successes you’ve experienced lately. Grab your favorite bottle of wine and pour a glass in honor of the awesome person you’ve become. If your spouse wants in on this night to appreciate you, let them. Better yet: Encourage him/her to make up a list of things they love about themselves too. Have a self-love party for two.

When you can cultivate a loving relationship with yourself, you become unstoppable. The entire world could fall apart, but you won’t, because there is always someone in the corner cheering you on every step of the way: yourself.  There is always someone to empathize and support you during the tough times. There is someone to celebrate the little victories. There is a wonderful, fully-accepting, true love within each and every one of us. 

The only thing keeping this relationship from blossoming is our inability to allow it. We have taken ourselves off the self-love market. We have deemed ourselves as “not good enough” to deserve such love. This needs to change.  What better time to explore our relationship than on the day of love?
Once you are able to see the fact that you are totally amazing and worth loving, commit to be your own Valentine. Not just on February 14th, but for the rest of your life. Make every day Valentine’s Day. Remember to romance yourself: compliment yourself, forgive yourself quickly, admire your strengths, and love yourself unconditionally regardless of your weaknesses. 

You are completely deserving of love just as you are, right now, in this very moment. Don’t wait another moment to love yourself. This is your time. You are your own best Valentine.

Here’s a little poem to get you started on this Self Love Valentine journey:

Self-Love Valentine   
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This year I want a Valentine
That lights up this dear heart of mine
Who loves me unconditionally
My perfect Valentine is me.
I’ve searched for love for years on end
Feeling lonely was my only trend
This year I’ll do it differently
My perfect Valentine is me.
On my good days, and on my bad
I’ll be the best friend I ever had
Love and support myself thoroughly
My perfect Valentine is me.
If V-Day brings you bouts of terror
Take a look into your mirror
To find a heart so pure and true
Who needs your love more than you do?
Forget the sweets and teddy bears
Give yourself the gift of self-care
Love yourself in every way
Be your own Valentine every day.

Sending you all my love this Valentine's Day,
-L.K. xoxo
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