Are you a fan of Valentine’s Day? As I’ve gotten older, I have definitely outgrown the over-commercialized version of the holiday of love. These days I’m more a fan of low-key stuff, like a nicer-than-user meal cooked at home, good takeout pizza paired with a good bottle of wine, or even a thoughtful card given over a fresh-baked doughnut from Dunkin’.
It’s great to have a day to celebrate love. Love for your significant other. Love for your family. Love for your besties. Love for your pets.
To give love and care to others, we have to first give love and care for ourselves. The saying goes that you can’t pour water from an empty cup. We can’t expect to love others and love them well if we aren’t loving ourselves. We have to fill our own cups first to be able to pour out our love into the lives of others.
Though it’s a bit of an overused term, self-care is definitely a way to show yourself some love. Here are five ideas for regular self-care to help fill your cup:
1. A well-accessorized bath (include a bath bomb or Epsom salts, a candle, some good music, a glass of wine, and/or a book) Bonus points for having a good pillow in the bathtub to tempt you into a quick nap. (This one is my favorite!)
2. Take a walk. (take advantage of the scattered about warmer winter days we get) Even for 15 minutes. You can make it a quiet walk, or listen to your favorite playlist, a podcast, or a book. If you’re Apple Fitness+ person, you can listen to stories from interesting people (Dolly Parton, Shawn Mendes, and Uzo Aduba) in their Time to Walk workout.
3. Make Monday (or any night of the week) Mask Night! Get real out of control and do it two nights a week. Extra hydration masks are great for winter; charcoal masks are really good for tightening pores and doing some extra deep cleaning. You can even do both for targeted double-masking. Sheet masks are also a super affordable option and you can find lots of options at Target, Walmart, Ulta, and Sephora.
4. Incorporate some time to be mindful. You can position the words and thought streams to include anything that helps you to relax and focus. Set aside one minute, five, or ten to be still and clear your mind. You can play some calming music and recite affirmations, Scripture, or just breathe. There are also tons of greats apps for mindfulness, like Calm and Headspace, or The Daily Still podcast. I’m not really into meditation in its original form, but I have found myself addicted to the Year of Yes meditations from Peloton.
5. Journal. Spending a few moments to journal can be so cleansing! Whether it’s a gratitude journal, a one-line-a-day journal, the 5 Minute journal, or a full-on account of what you’re going through emotionally, mentally, or physically, journaling has been proven to help your emotional and mental health. Prefer an app to pen and paper? You can simply use the Notes app on your phone or an app like Day One.
What’s missing from my list? What type of self-care do you like to practice to be sure you’re loving yourself well? I’d love for you to share in the comments.
And remember, show yourself some love every day, not just on holidays. 😊