Single on Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day is here… and you know what that means. Time to start browsing for the perfect gift, time to start making reservations… time to start planning just how you will prove your undying love to your boyfriend, girlfriend, partner, or spouse. Those of us who have not yet found a lasting romantic interest might anticipate the holiday with a sort of bitter annoyance – we get to remember just how alone we truly are, as we scroll through mushy Facebook posts and buy chocolates for ourselves to gorge on, unaided. Rather than bask in self-pity, why not explore the most important and fulfilling relationship of all – your relationship with yourself?

Regardless of whether you are newly single or have been flying solo for years, Valentine’s Day can be viewed as a celebration of self-love rather than a gloomy reminder of present singledom. After all, you must learn to love yourself deeply and authentically before you can truly offer love to anyone else. This February 14th, try taking a deeper and more meaningful route. Spend some time with yourself; practice self-care, and acknowledge the fact that you are an amazing person, capable of doing anything you set your mind to. Try to recognize that when you are right with yourself, everything else will fall into place as it is meant to.

Most of us want to find someone to settle down with eventually; this is a completely natural desire, one that works to comprise our fundamental humanness. From an early age, we learn that romantic involvement will lead to ultimate fulfillment. Not only do we crave love because of our innate human desire for companionship, but also because of our intrinsic need to be appreciated and validated. Without realizing that we are doing so, many of us look to a partner to fulfill needs that we, ourselves, should be fulfilling - we look to our partners to help us feel whole. Yet not until we become whole on our own will we be able to effectively give a piece of ourselves to someone else.