Dear Me,

I LOVE EATING HEALTHY FOOD, I LOVE MYSELF AND THEREFORE I CHOOSE TO BE AWARE OF WHAT I EAT AND HOW IT MAKES ME FEEL. I ENJOY THE FOODS THAT ARE BEST FOR MY BODY BECAUSE I LOVE EVERY CELL OF MY BODY

HAPPY VALENTINES’ DAY TO ME!

Every year we look forward to Valentine’s Day to express our love towards someone we hold dear to the heart. Letting that person know how much we care.

Let’s also learn to practice self-love this Valentine’s day! But how difficult is the practice self-love? We know ourselves like no one else. This makes it even more difficult to accept ourselves in totality, and often we are the toughest on ourselves more than anyone else.

We are trying to make a better version of ourselves each day, may be losing weight, achieving a higher post, being a better parent, learning new skills each day. In this race we forget to take a moment to reflect on ‘how far we have come’. Not able to celebrate the small milestones which make it a bigger success one day.

This over excitement makes you ruin the moment and do not realize the potential you have to do more. Ultimately this leads to a burn out. Negative thinking, anxiety, depression is a fallout of trying to judge your self all the time.

Negative thoughts have a domino effect. It affects you and the people around you who get into the similar thought process, and trust me this is completely in your subconscious mind. You may not even realize that you are transmitting negative vibes to the people whom you love so much. So a bad day at work makes you come home anxious , you pass it on the children and it makes them less confident since they are constantly around the negative emotions.

So, promise yourself these things on Valentine’s:

  1. HAVE SOME TIME OFF YOUR DAILY ROUTINE – This means that you will spend a good 1 hour of your day just doing what you like; listening to music, sipping on chai and reading a book, painting, trekking literally anything that makes you feel more connected to yourself. And do not attend any calls, look after children, attend the door. This is the uninterrupted time you should gift yourself.
  2. WRITE DOWN ONE GOOD QUALITY ABOUT YOURSELF – Sounds tough, right? If I ask you to tell me one good quality in your children or friends you will have many. But you may feel it difficult to point out what is best in you. Take help of your loved ones to make this happen. But do write it down on a paper and keep it handy for you to see it on days when you are self-loathing.
  3. CATCH UP WITH A FRIEND – A childhood buddy would be even better because you have shared a lot of carefree moments. Make it a point to actually meet the person and not virtually. Don’t discuss kids, spouses, mother-in-law problems. Just strike a random conversation that makes you laugh like a child.
  4. PAMPER YOURSELF – Buying new clothes, a gadget or anything that makes you feel happy at the moment. Taking a massage or pampering yourself in the spa is also a fantastic getaway. Something which you so wanted to but could not because of cash crunch or lack of time.
  5. PICK UP ONE HEALTHY HABIT – Self-love means starting to treat your body well and nourishing it. So pick a simple habit, for example making sure you have 10 glasses of water every day, or including a fruit in daily diet, adding more salads to your meals or simply eating more meals at home than in restaurants. See what you can add today in place of deleting like don’t promise to stop junk or have less cups of coffee today. Leave that for another day!
  6. SOCIAL MEDIA TURNS OFF– What you see on social media might be the tip of the iceberg. So today is a good day for digital detox. Second way to learn to be unaffected even if you see things around you. This really starts happening when you thinking positively about yourself and that things outside do not make a difference to you.
  7. AN ACT OF KINDNESS– Research has proven that your self-worth increases for yourself when you show kindness. So, if you have been waiting to make some donations or visit some orphanages or old age homes this is a perfect time. Simply giving off your old clothes or food to the needy gives you satisfaction.

Choose this valentine day to be different than the other ones by practicing self-care and self-love. The day is just the beginning and the rest of the year follows.