Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and I know not everyone’s as excited as others might be. There’s this notion that Valentine’s Day is for lovers and couples, but that’s only the half. Valentine’s Day is a day for the expression of love of all kinds in all types of relationships. So, for all of you that are going to be without a date on your arms, hold off on the sappy movies and ice cream you have lined up for Valentine’s Day. I’m here to bring you a new perspective on the day that singles seem to dread every year.
The first and most intimate, long-term relationship one can ever get into is with themselves. No one knows how to please you and make you happy like yourself. If you read that and your first thought was “I don’t really know how to make myself happy”, then this is the first day of you fostering a relationship with yourself that will last a lifetime. Understand that making yourself happy is not as plain as it may sound. You know your favorite candy, favorite song, what food to eat that makes you feel better, but that doesn’t mean you truly know how to make yourself happy. Often times when we are making ourselves happy, it comes as a result of something that someone else is doing and we don’t even realize it. What tends to happen is that we’re so happy we don’t fully process what is that’s making us happy. Knowing how to make yourself happy begins with knowing yourself and knowing yourself begins with falling in love with yourself in a purely self-actualized kind of way.
On this Valentine’s Day, if you are single, I charge you with treating yourself and beginning a genuine relationship with yourself. I charge you with taking yourself on a date, or planning a romantic night with no one else but you. Go to the movies. Have a nice night in, and cook your favorite meal. Go to Lush and buy a bath bomb! Whatever you do, make sure you’re doing it for you and no one else. Make sure it’s something that will begin you on the path to loving yourself. You have to love yourself fully in order for others to adequately love you. That does not mean that if you are not currently in a place of loving yourself and being self-actualized then you are unworthy of love. That means that when you love yourself, you are teaching people how to love and care for you, because they would then have a standard to which they can compare their actions towards you. So guys and gals, it’s time to start taking people to class on How to Love You 101!