Valentine’s Week has a way of sneaking up on us. Suddenly, timelines are filled with roses, candle-lit dinners, and love declarations.
While all of that can be beautiful, it can also quietly pressure us into measuring our worth against relationships, attention, or romantic validation.
This Valentine’s, let’s start love with ourselves and not fixate on somebody else. What if it started with you?
Self-love isn’t just about bubble baths or buying yourself flowers (though those help). It’s about building a relationship with yourself that feels safe, compassionate, and honest.
And what better time than to start right before a week dedicated entirely to love! Let’s find out a few easy ways that will help you build your self-love journey.
1. Start Journaling: Create Space for Your Thoughts
Journaling is one of the simplest yet most powerful self-love tools. It helps you to process your thoughts, instead of constantly racing around your mind.
Writing regularly helps regulate emotions, process overwhelming feelings, and gain clarity. Over time, it also becomes a beautiful archive of your growth. You’ll look back at old pages and realise how far you’ve come, even on days it didn’t feel like much.
You don’t need fancy or perfectly written paragraphs. Start with simple things that come to your mind. Drawing doodles for a calmer mind, abstract art for random thoughts, or even writing about things like:
- How am I really feeling today?
- What’s been heavy lately?
- What do I need more of right now?
Are a few ways to start your journey. Do not worry about the aesthetic, just dump your heart out. Think of journaling as a conversation with yourself without interruption, minimisation, or any rush.
2. Practice Words of Affirmation Every Morning
The way you speak to yourself matters more than you think. Words of affirmation, when practised consistently, gently rewire how you see yourself, take example from K3G’s Poo, Regina from Mean Girls!
Make it a morning ritual. It might feel awkward at first, but honestly, your future self will thank you!
Stand in front of the mirror or say them quietly while making your bed. Your affirmations can be savvy, powerful, soft, or unapologetically girly. Here are a few affirmations. Choose what aligns with you.
1. To channel your femininity
2. To channel your masculinity 
Over time, these words boost confidence, create emotional safety, and even help with manifesting abundance because magic happens when you believe in yourself (Barbie).
3. Move Your Body Without Making It Complicated
Movement doesn’t have to mean HIIT workouts or rigid routines. Self-love is about listening to your body, not punishing it.
Take a 10-minute walk after meals. Put on your favourite song and dance in your room. Try a low-impact workout, stretch, or yoga. If you love the gym, amazing. If you don’t, that’s perfectly fine too.
The goal is not to “burn calories” but to feel connected to your body. Movement releases endorphins, improves mood, and reminds you that your body is something to care for rather than to criticise.
4. Write Words of Gratitude
Gratitude grounds you in the present moment. It shifts your focus from what’s missing to what’s already here.
Make it a habit to write down five (or more) things you’re grateful for daily or weekly, whatever feels comfortable. They don’t have to be big achievements. Sometimes, gratitude lives in very small moments like:
- A good cup of coffee
- A comforting song
- Reconnecting with family or friends
- A stray dog/cat showing affection towards you
- A deep conversation
- A copy that made you smile
- A quiet evening
Practising gratitude keeps negativity from taking over and reminds you that your life already holds moments of softness and joy.
5. Take Yourself on a Solo Date
Learning to enjoy your own company is the best form of self-love. Take yourself out the way you wish someone else would.
Dress up cute and go for a cafe date, a movie, a museum visit, or a long drive. If not, then stay home comfortably, order desserts and romanticise your lone time.
Buy flowers for yourself, treat yourself like the diva you are! Because when you learn to show up for yourself, you don’t seek validation from others and stop settling for less.
6. Spend Time with Friends and Family
Love doesn’t only come wrapped in romance. It exists in old friendships and family in the form of endless laughter, the comfort of reminiscing and sharing new experiences.
Spending time with people who truly know you is one way to “touch grass” without touching grass.
Whether it’s a casual dinner, late-night conversations, or just sitting together in silence, the support and homely feel signal your brain to let down its guard and allow yourself to be loved by others.
7. Pick Up a New Hobby
Trying something new is an act of self-investment. It shifts your focus outward and gives your mind something exciting to look forward to.
Take up pottery, painting, learning a new language, cooking, journaling, aesthetics, or even content creation. A hobby keeps you occupied, curious, and connected to parts of yourself you may have forgotten.
If it feels like a lot to take up a new hobby, simply redecorate your room by reorganising the decor, add a new cushion cover, or even add a planter for a fresher look!
You don’t have to be good at it. You just have to enjoy it!
8. Watch New Movies or Revisit Comfort Classics
Movies can be an emotional escape and a form of comfort. Watch something new that inspires you or go back to your favourite classics that make you feel at home.
Watching new movies and ticking them off your wish-list brings some sort of contentment and marks the beginning of the end of procrastination.
Rewatching familiar films can be incredibly soothing, especially during emotionally heavy weeks, because there’s comfort in knowing how the story ends.
As the saying goes, “old is gold”, we believe, rewatching an oldie when one is going through a life of turmoil, in fact, brings stability and a catharsis.
9. Plan Self-Care Nights
Set aside evenings dedicated only to yourself. Oil your hair, apply a face mask, light some candles, and play music that makes you feel calm or powerful.
You can watch a movie all snuggled in cosy throws, karaoke at the top of your lungs, make a homemade pizza, or simply sit in silence. Self-care isn’t about aesthetic perfection but intentional care.
Checking in every fortnight works as a reminder to be kinder and more loving to yourself and that you deserve time, attention, and softness.
10. Accept That Bedrotting Is Sometimes Necessary
Not every day has to be productive, filled with moments of healing or growth. Sometimes, rotting in bed, snacking and wallowing is absolutely okay!
Cry or sleep as much as you want to, skip meals or eat junk in your favourite bowls. It is absolutely normal. Eventually, it will wear off and lead to burnout. That’s when you’d know that you are ready: to begin again, to take care of yourself and talk to the birds.
Self-love means knowing when to stop, rest, and give yourself grace. You’re allowed to pause without guilt.
Special Edition For Women: Plan a Galentine’s Celebration
Love exists in all forms, and celebrating friendship is just as important! Plan a Galentine’s get-together with your girls.
Wear matching outfits, eat cake, sip champagne in beautiful glasses, take pictures, laugh loudly, and uplift each other. Create a space where feminine energy thrives, and everyone feels seen.
And honestly, women empowering women is one of the best forms of love yet. It is a constant reminder to the world that love doesn’t always look romantic, and that doesn’t make it any less meaningful.
Final Thoughts
Starting self-love before Valentine’s Week isn’t about ignoring romance. it’s about expanding your definition of love, knowing what you want and most importantly: what you don’t want!
When you choose yourself first, every other form of love becomes healthier, fuller, and more aligned.
This Valentine’s Week, live, love and laugh with compassion, patience, and gentleness towards yourself. Because the longest relationship you’ll ever have is the one with you!
XOXO!
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