Happy Valentines Day Love Birds!
2021 is here and the dated notion of Valentine’s Day to celebrate romantic relationships alone is out and replaced with the celebration of love itself! Love of others, love of self, love of guys and love of galentines. Trending on Instagram, #selflove has 37.4 million hashtags. We have put together a list of actions we can take right away to put “self-love” into motion this Valentine’s Day. 
UNPLUGGED LOVE
After a day spent studying, working or looking after your child, it can seem essential to switch off in the evening. We love Netflix just as much as the next person and sometimes feet up is just what the souls need, but as well as this, consider perhaps switching some of our Netflix days for self pampering instead and unplug from TV and social media. Dedicate an hour to a “self-love” ritual and shower ourselves with gratitude. This “self-love” hour can be spent pampering or journalling or mediating, whatever works best for us, but the idea is we are unplugged from the outside world and distractions and nurturing our needs foremost.
GALENTINES DAY
Galentine’s Day has become a “real thing” in 2021 and we couldn’t love it more. It’s actually celebrated on February 13th, the day before Valentine’s Day and intended for women to celebrate and support each other - who needs a significant other anyway! Whilst “self-love” is very much focused on self care and healing, we can’t do it entirely on our own. Having our ‘bae’ friends around who support us and love us, albeit a porch drop off or a zoom get together, can help us stay motivated and positive, all whilst having some good old fashioned “laugh out loud fun”.
LOVE CLEANSE
We aren’t going to suggest starting a fire in our home and burning our ex’s memorabilia but perhaps cleaning out our closet might help. Not only is this process very therapeutic but has proven positive effects on our mind. By getting rid of the old, we are welcoming the new. Rummage through our cupboards and see what we can recycle, or give to charity and declutter old clothes, shoes, jewellery, books and make space for what’s to come mentally and physically.
COMPARISON HEARTBREAK
Valentine’s week can be a tough time for singletons going through heartache or breakups, which isn’t any bettered with social media posts flooding our feeds with loved up couples, never mind the huge bunch of roses that were delivered to our colleague who sits on the office desk next to us. It is so easy to fall into a state of comparison all year round, not just Valentine’s Day but how do we cope when the thoughts take over? Remind yourself that you are perfect and all the things you have to be grateful for and there is a whole lot of “smoke and mirrors” whilst it may seem picture perfect on the outside, we don’t know what’s going on truly on the inside.
LOVE BOOST
Whilst chocolates may give us a love boost, another healthier option may be to work on improving our “self-esteem” and boost our endorphin levels. If you love to bake, then take the time to bake, if you love to swim, then take the time to swim. Think about what makes us feel energised, excited and fulfilled and try to do more of those things every week.
HAPPY PLACE
We all have our individual “happy place” perhaps we have a favourite spot in the park or a favourite cafe, where each time we go, we feel warm and content with ourselves and allow our minds to open and wonder about new possibilities. Our happy place does not allow for worry over work or bills or relationships, so go on and seek out your happy place and make sure to make regular visits.
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