As we come up to Valentine’s Day it is good to see past all the hype and look at the intention behind the day.
So let me state the obvious – it is a CELEBRATION OF LOVE!!
I know some cynics will say: ‘No, it is a commercial venture.’
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Celebrating love is so worthwhile.
For thousands of years people did not marry for love and still today in so many cultures people have marriages arranged for them on the basis of status and money.
With all the issues we have with intimate partnerships in our western world, I think we would all agree that we would rather be with someone we loved who was of our own choosing.
There are, however, so many different ways we can celebrate love.
The one I want to talk about today is to celebrate LOVING OURSELVES!
So many people lavish attention, praise and generosity on others but won’t do the same for themselves.
With themselves they are critical, unforgiving and stingy.
This is not a recipe for happiness and success.
So this Valentine’s say send a Self-Love Valentine’s Message to YOU saying how much you love and appreciate everything your have done, been and are.
Write down 5 things that you love about yourself.
This could be loving your creativity, your empathy towards others, the effort you put into your work, home, friends, family or children, your persistence in achieving your goals, your resilience in the face of challenges, your integrity, being a good person just to name a few.
If you don’t find this easy then it may be time to invest in your self-esteem, self-respect and self-love.
Feelings of unworthiness and beliefs about not being good enough eat away at self-confidence and affect our ability to be successful.
Remember loving ourselves is also about loving our inner children or the child within who may not have had the approval, love and attention they needed growing up. Let’s give that to ourselves now.
So this Valentine’s Day give yourself the gift of self-love in every area of your life.
Many people feel that they have to be modest and not recognise their own strengths but this is a false modesty.
Because when we love ourselves we become a fantastic example to our friends, family, children and partners to love themselves as well.
What better love letter can we give others than being a shinning example of love and happiness ourselves.
