It’s Valentine’s day. Firstly, yes, I am single. 

But, this is not for just single people. Just because someone else is loving you, does not mean you don’t need to love yourself ! BIG POINT NUMBER ONE.

We work in the world of advertising where we shout about promotion and our love for brands. But how about our love for ourselves? Are we giving ourselves that same level of love and promotion? Well, we should be! 

I introduce to you all, the art of dating yourself. Here are 10 steps i encourage you take to aid your self lovin’ this Valentines: 

It Takes One, With Ten Steps

How to Date yourself:

  1. When I say date, I mean date.

    Take yourself out – go for a walk to get a nice coffee, explore a new local spot, …

  2. Treat yourself.

    You deserve a little present, you’ve earned it. 

  3. Stop giving yourself a tough time.

    There are enough pressures out there, stop putting even more pressure on yourself. Ladies, you know you’re worse for this. Especially if you’re a virgo. 

  4. Self care.

    Tired? Honey, take some time to chill out. Have that nap, skip that gym session, don’t work late that night… You’re only going to push yourself till you pop – no one wants that, especially not you. 

  5. Mind care.

    This is a biggie. Are you ok? It’s ok if you’re not. But be honest with yourself. Check in with how you’re feeling. This is not to say you have to deal with your feelings with just you, but if you don’t know how you honestly feel, how can someone else. 

  6. Get to know yourself.

    What do you like to do? You don’t have to go traveling and find yourself… We’re not talking Eat, Pray, Love levels (unless that’s what you want), just have a think about what you ACTUALLY like doing. Not because it’s what you should like to do. 

  7. Get to know ALL of yourself.

    Yup, I don’t need to tell you to do this. But, it’s something that comes with a lot of shame even though its literally loving yourself. The clinical term, Masturbation, is to blame for that – you go wank/flick/rub/touch whatever you want. 

  8. Nights in.

    This is quite similar to treat yourself… but oh well. Get that takeaway you’re craving, put on that face mask you’ve been saving, enjoy that cheesy film that no one else will watch with you. 

  9. Know your self worth.

    Self-worth is about who you are, not what you do or anything around you. The first step in building self-worth, is to stop comparing yourself to everyone else, that critical inner voice in your head needs to be silenced! 

  10. Promote yourself.

    If you were a brand, what would be your USP? What are your values? We’re all brands at the end of the day.

Why this is so important?

To summarise, Ru Paul is a prime example of a ‘self love’ icon.

if you can’t love yourself, how the HELL you gonna love somebody else?’

Ru Paul makes a great point.

But do you know why else? Because as a result, it will make you HAPPY. SIMPLE. Why would you not love yourself? Work on your relationship with you, for you. 

You’re the one who has to live with yourself.

Josie McLachlan
Account Manager