Recommended for you
Valentine's Day is known as a day that centers around your significant other showing you appreciation through gifts and romance. If you're highly single like me, you know that you will not be swooning over anyone else's adoration. In fact, all five of my best friends are in relationships this year, but instead of being bummed out that I'm flying solo, I'm doing something about it!
If this day is about love, why don't you just go and love yourself? (cue Bieber) Personally, I've spent the past three years trying to figure out how to do that, and well, I'm pretty sure I've mastered what it's like to accept and love yourself first.
In that process, I was taught that in order to be happy in a healthy relationship with another person, you've got to have all of the pieces of YOU sorted out and put together. There is nothing worse than bringing insecurities and emptiness into a relationship. If you can not deal with your own issues, it's sure as heck not right to bring someone else in and put it all on them. Using a man or woman to fill a void in yourself is an absolute no-no. You're stronger than that!
My motto is: be your own best friend and treat yourself the way you want to be treated. So, I've come up with this list of practices you can do on Valentine's Day, and any other day of your life. You've got to take care of yourself first, before anyone else. It is not selfish, it is mandatory for your own happiness!
I'm all in favor of encouraging other women to be more independent, so this list is for the fearless lady who is ready to fall in love all over again with who SHE is deep down in her heart.
Here are 7 steps to having a fabulously single Valentine's Day.....
1. Buy yourself flowers
Instead of being bummed you didn't get any pretty flowers, go buy them yourself! I actually make this a regular thing, with flowers starting around $3.99 at Trader Joe's, I usually snag a few different kinds and make my own bouquet for around $9. Place them in a spot in your home where you will see them the most. I usually put them near the window on my TV stand, or on my nightstand. Did you stop to smell the roses today? Now you will have no excuse!
2. Take yourself out to eat.......alone!
What's your favorite dish? Is it a kale salad, a burrito, ice cream? WHO CARES. Just go and eat it. And while you're eating it, enjoy it! Just be good to yourself! The more and more comfortable you are going out to eat by yourself, the more likely you are to enjoy your own company. There is NOTHING wrong with being alone, you've just got to trust yourself.
3. Take a scenic drive or walk
Considering V-Day falls on a Sunday this year, you most likely have the entire day to yourself. Use this free time do reconnect with nature. It does not matter where you are in the world, there is beauty in your own backyard. Click here to see where you can adventure to in your area. And don't give me a weather excuse either! Grab a coffee and blast some music on your way there, and sing at the top of your lungs. (no sad songs allowed, ladies)
4. Go to a shelter and play with animals
Most shelters need extra hands to help take care of the fur babies. There's nothing more satisfying than volunteering, for it comes from the beauty and grace of your heart. BONUS: tons of dog kisses and cat videos.5. Get a massage
6. Call a friend
7. PRACTICE GRATITUDE
This is the most important point I will ever stress. The cosmic law of attraction is the strongest energy I've ever felt. I can not tell you enough how taking five minutes before I go to bed every night to count my blessings has changed my life tremendously. When you give thanks to particular things in your life, the law recognizes that you are grateful, and will reward you with more of those things. I suggest making a list on pen and paper, or on your phone, whatever. Just write it down, close your eyes and say "thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Overall, I want you to know a few things. You are beautiful and there is nothing wrong with who you are. If you're single, someday someone is going to love you, accept you, and respect you more than you can ever imagine. There is nothing wrong with being patient and spending months or years casually dating, but not committing to something long-term. You should know your worth, have some standards for the next guy, or girl. There is a time and place for everything that happens in your life, and relationships will come when you are ready to be open to a new energy. If you've been hurt before, let it go. You probably gave them up and gained the world...maybe you haven't seen the light yet, but I promise everything happens for a reason. Life is 20% of what happens to you, and 80% of how you react to it. So if you're single, EMBRACE IT! You're a supernova, let those colors shine ladies!
xo Linds
