What are you doing for YOU this Valentine’s Day?

» Posted by Leanne Chapman on Feb 13, 2014 | 4 comments

What are you doing for YOU this Valentine’s Day?

“Valentine’s day, a holiday invented by greeting card companies to make people feel like crap.” – a quote from Joel in the opening scenes of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

I have spent so many of the Valentine’s Days when I was in relationships feeling let down or disappointed because my partner at the time didn’t believe in it, or was away with work, or took me somewhere he thought was romantic but I didn’t (watching model airplanes buzz around the sky, anyone?), or just forgot about it. I spent days sitting in my office watching bunch after bunch of couriered flowers and balloons arrive, but they were never for me, sigh.

Yet it occurs to me that I’ve had a few really enjoyable Valentine’s Days too – the ones where I was single. Yes Valentine’s Day is traditionally considered a nightmare for singles, but when I think about it, it’s the times I spent these days with my single friends that I’ve enjoyed them the most.

One year a girlfriend and I went to see Roxette live, a band I’d been wanting to see for more than 20 years. Another time a group of us got together to watch sappy rom-coms, so much fun. I remember one Valentine’s Day at work where we all left secret cards and gifts on each other’s desks so not only did we all feel loved, but we spent all day trying to hunt down our ‘secret admirer’. Again…fun and laughter.

This Valentine’s Day, whether you’re in a relationship or not, why not make it about loving YOU? What gifts do you want to stop waiting for from others and start giving to yourself? A luxury facial? Time out with a new book? Lunch with your best friend? A day in the country with your dog? That charm bracelet you’ve been wanting for years? Ok that last one is my gift to myself from several years back, I actually had to pay it off but I LOVED it from afar for so long and now it’s all MINE.

To add to the self-love, I have some great gifts for you as well. If you haven’t already seen it, go over and pick up your FREE copy of the beautiful e-book compiled by Caroline Kirk. It’s called Lessons In Self Love and it’s full of inspiration. It not only contains over 150 pages of moving personal stories, you also get oodles of free resources such as meditations, posters, and worksheets for finding ways to take excellent care of yourself. You’ll find my contribution ‘When Your Story Is Not Your Story‘, outlining how to take care of yourself when you realise everything about your life isn’t working, in chapter 4. You could also grab a free copy of Caroline’s book Self-Love Rocks while you’re there.

And that’s not all! Here’s another free resource to keep you smiling this Valentine’s Day – head over to the Blog The Love 2014 gathering at the Village Hearth. This is a full week of articles and videos on where to find joy and laughter at this time of year, along with great prizes to win, such as numerology reports and meditations.

So there is no reason for you not to be brimming with self-love with all these amazing resources on offer! I truly wish you a beautiful Valentine’s Day and blessings for the days ahead. You deserve the best.