It’s that time of year again, where we all get preoccupied with who we’ll spend the 14th with. Some people may know exactly how they and their significant other will celebrate the day. Some may be questioning if their most recent fling is ready to take on the holiday. Others are organizing time with their closest friends to show appreciation for each other. There certainly are a multitude of ways you can celebrate with those you care for dearly.
On the other hand, Valentine’s Day offers an opportunity to show love and care for someone that you may not always remember: yourself. The holiday doesn’t only have to revolve around the relationships you have with others. What better time is there to work on building your relationship with yourself? Additionally, what better way to do so than with your love language? Being loved in your language doesn’t have to come from someone else to be fulfilling. Here’s how to use your self-love language to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
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Words of Affirmation
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It’s nice to use your words to help build up your loved ones, but it’s also important to have words of affirmation for yourself. Be your own source of encouragement and empowerment! You can pick a few positive mantras to memorize and recite daily or you can find a creative way to write them out and display them around your room! Another way you could use words of affirmation is by journaling on self-love and empowerment topics so that you can look back when you need that extra encouragement.
- Quality Time
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The middle of the quarter is the perfect time to assess and reaffirm that you’re spending time with yourself. It’s easy to get lost in all of the Zoom meetings for classes and extracurriculars, and even easier to spend most of your free time trying to be productive in one way or another. Taking time to do something that you enjoy and that isn’t work-motivated is so important now that the line between your academic and personal life is blurrier than ever before. Whether you decide to listen to your favorite playlist without doing anything else or to binge watch a Netflix show you’ve been putting off, taking the time to just be with yourself can leave you feeling refreshed and cared for.
- Acts of Service
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If you love treating your friends and family with acts of service, you may find that you don’t always do the same for yourself. One way you can treat yourself with acts of service is by making a list of tasks that would help you feel more relaxed and productive, like organizing your desk area or cleaning around your living space. You can schedule time within your week to focus on these tasks and make life easier for yourself in the long run.
- Gifts
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Giving gifts can feel natural when we’re doing so for the ones we love, but it can feel a bit silly to think of shopping for yourself as gift-giving as well. It’s important to remember that doing something as simple as buying a new dress you’ve been eyeing for a while or picking up your favorite sweet snack to enjoy throughout the week. Making the plan to buy yourself a gift can be motivating for accomplishing your goals and a way to intentionally reward yourself for all of the amazing things you do.
- Physical Touch
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For those who cherish physical touch as their love language, the good news is that having a partner around isn’t a necessity to exercise this. Taking a self-love perspective on this love language could mean getting in touch with your own body and caring for it by yourself. You could treat yourself to a luxurious shower with body scrubs or bath bombs, indulge yourself with an in-depth skincare routine, or use meditation and yoga to do a body-scan and check in with your breath.
Whether you’re single, taken, or somewhere in between, using your self-love language is a perfect way to appreciate all of the amazing things you do. Take some of these ideas this weekend and craft a special day for yourself.