written by: by Karen | Wellness, USA

Love is in the air! But wait, are you loving everyone else before yourself? And just what is love anyway?? (cue Night at the Roxbury theme song).

As we enter into this season of February love, let’s take a look at self love vs. self care and why we actually need both! And how this can, in turn, help us love each other to greater depths.  Let’s make this Valentine’s season more than obligatory chocolates and flowers (but we’re not cutting those out, k?) and make strides to show ourselves some self love AND self care! Your loved ones will thank you.

I did a poll on love and what types of expressions of love stood out to you the most. We had the choice of simple moments, acts of kindness, gifts, hugs, and kind words. Want to know the results? Most of you chose simple moments and acts of kindness.

This was really interesting to me! Are we missing these the most? Are we craving simple moments (a break, a pause, a time for special connection?) and acts of kindness (help with household chores, overwhelming to-do lists?)?

This is exactly why self care and self love are so crucial to our daily routine and why practicing both can help fill those voids and create a sense of gratitude and calmness.

Self care and self love are a bit different but we need both of them. When we look at self care, we know this means acts of taking care of ourselves. Massage, fitness classes, spending time with loved ones, staying in and binge watching Netflix, even doing chores to slim down your to-do list.

Self love, however, means cultivating gratitude and acceptance towards yourself. Loving yourself unapologetically, speaking kindly to yourself, letting go of comparing yourself to others, and building and achieving confidence. Success comes from having confidence and this all starts with loving yourself.

This Valentine’s Day, celebrate the ones you love including YOU! Reflect on how you’re practicing self love and what practices you do for self care. Celebrate love today and every day!