Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love. It is a day for us to commemorate the relationships in our lives, whether it be with significant others, our children, or our friendships. We usually get and give small presents to those that we love and spend the day acknowledging how important these people are to us.

We might have a romantic dinner, go dancing, or spend a quiet night watching our favorite movies. On Valentine’s Day, we try to show the important people in our lives how much we love and appreciate them.

However, this Valentine’s Day, we are asking that everyone celebrate themselves. Most of us spend all our time and energy concentrating on everyone else in our lives. We are usually so focused on the other people in our lives that we don’t leave a ton of time or have the energy to focus on our needs and wants. We are also taught that it is selfish to focus too much on ourselves.

We are here to dispel that out-of-date theory. We are here to give you ten tips on how to love yourself this Valentine’s Day and far beyond. In addition to these tips, we have also developed a 7-Day Self Love and Care Challenge. We believe that if you follow these tips and join the challenge, you will no longer believe that self-love and care is a selfish act. You will believe that they are vital to living your best life.

Are you ready to start living your life to the fullest? Follow along and, if you need to, remind yourself of these tips daily until it becomes second nature.

1 - STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHERS 

This is a difficult task, especially currently. Everyone is constantly posting photos and news of their lives on social media. We are bombarded with information about other people 24 hours a day. What we all need to remember is it is not all true.

People are posting happy moments and memories. We aren’t posting the frustrating and disappointing moments. We aren’t posting photos of our children throwing temper tantrums in the middle of the supermarket, struggles with finances that we might face, or difficult topics like anxiety and depression.

When we constantly see photos of those in our lives having ‘perfect’ moments, it is easy to believe that our own lives are in disarray. Remember that no one is posting about their struggles; they are only posting about their triumphs. We don’t see that everyone is struggling in some way and that we are all doing the best that we can, and THAT IS OKAY. Celebrate your triumphs, however small they may be.

2 - ALLOW YOURSELF TO MAKE MISTAKES

Our next tip goes hand-in-hand with the first one. While we are comparing ourselves to others, it is easy to punish ourselves for our mistakes. But guess what? Suzy Homemaker, who you constantly compare yourself to, also makes mistakes and has terrible days.

We are all only human. We also need to remember that mistakes are essential. Look back at past mistakes. What did or have you learned from them? Look at how far you have come because of those mistakes and pat yourself on the back.

3 - YOUR VALUE DOES NOT LIE IN HOW YOUR BODY LOOKS

We have all been hearing this for as long as we can remember, yet sometimes it is the easiest thing to forget. Our value lies in our strengths. What are your strengths? Are you a good listener? Do you give good advice? Are you always there for others? Write them down and display them where you can see them as a daily reminder of how amazing you are.

Confidence is a key player in how valuable we feel. What makes you feel confident? Do you have a favorite outfit that makes you feel beautiful and sexy? Are you more self-possessed when you learn or try something new? Have a hard time thinking of ways to feel more confident? Our 7-Day Self-Love and Care Challenge offers daily tasks to solidify more trust in yourself.

4 - SET BOUNDARIES

We believe that this may be the most crucial tip for self-love. Too often, we go out of our way to make sure that others are happy. We offer our time and energy to others when we are running on empty.

Often, we feel guilty and end up saying yes because we don’t want to disappoint others. YOU ARE ALLOWED TO SAY NO. No is a complete sentence. You do not owe anyone excuses, especially if the situation or the person(s) you are saying no to is toxic.

You also need to know that it is okay to say no because you need to take some time for yourself to relax and regroup. We do not need to run ourselves ragged to feel like we are loving, caring people. We need to remember to be giving to ourselves above everything else.

5 - GIVE YOURSELF A TREAT

Most of the time, we feel as if we need to earn a treat. We tend to deprive ourselves of simple rewards because we feel as if we don’t truly deserve them. We need to stop having that mentality. We are all working so hard, all the time. We deserve to reward ourselves occasionally, just because.

6 - PRACTICE GRATITUDE

Life has been extremely difficult for us over the past two years. There have been people, and things, that have gotten some of us through. What are some things, or people, that you are grateful for? What are you truly thankful for?

This is also a tactic that we cover in the 7-Day Self-Love and Care Challenge, and we believe that it should be practiced daily. At the end of each day, it is always easier to gripe about what went wrong. If you start thinking about what you are grateful for every day, things will be a bit brighter and easier.

Try to take note each day of what you are grateful for. It can be as simple as something like a good cup of coffee or the fact that traffic was a bit lighter during rush hour. We also ask that you practice gratitude for yourselves. This is probably the most important part. You are the strong person getting yourself through every day. Make sure to thank yourself daily for that. The more you practice gratitude, the easier it becomes, and the better your life will be.

7 - SCHEDULE TIME FOR YOURSELF

We know how difficult this one is. We all feel there isn’t enough time in the day to complete certain tasks that NEED to be done, let alone find time for things that we WANT to get done. It may sound silly, but sometimes we need to schedule ourselves into our own lives.

Carve out some time only for you and make it an appointment that you cannot cancel. We need to make time for rest, relaxation, and activities that bring us joy to be the best version of ourselves. We also deserve it.

8 - SLEEP

The ever-elusive sleep. It is what we all desire, yet most of us don’t get enough of it. This is also something that needs to be penciled into our lives. Make a pact with yourself to keep a specific bedtime for one week. And part of this bedtime includes putting your screens away for at least 30 minutes before shut-eye.

You will see that this will change your life. Disengaging from your screens will allow your mind and body to know that it is time to start slowing down. That way, when you do want to fall asleep, your body is well on its way to dreamland. Having a set bedtime may seem a tad silly, but getting those full 8 hours will be well worth it.

9 - VISION BOARD

Some of you may remember our vision boards from the 7-Day Goal Setting Challenge. We believe that having a vision board is key to accomplishing any goal, and going after your goals are vital to self-love and care!

Having a vision board allows you to see your goals and remind you why you have set this goal in the first place. They are also super easy and fun to make! If you need tips on creating a vision board, please join our 7-Day Goal Setting Challenge and track your progress in our Facebook group.

10 - POSITIVE SELF-TALK

This tip culminates many of the others listed here. We all need to remember how special and extraordinary we are. We all find it so simple to support and love those in our lives, yet we fall short when it comes to ourselves. 

We need to speak to ourselves the way we would to those we love — with patience, compassion, trust, and kindness. If we start doing this daily, it will become easier and easier. After a while, we won’t need to ‘practice’ it so much; it will come so naturally to us that we will become our biggest cheerleaders. 

That is the goal of self-love and care: become your biggest advocate and never apologize for it. You are incredible.    

If you are interested in learning more ways to take care of yourself then we encourage you to take our 7-Day Self Love & Care Challenge.