Valentine’s day is generally set aside for the celebration of romance between couples, it has inspired movies, songs, meals, and too many themed products to name.

During all this commercialism, some people choose a smaller scale celebration centred around spending quality time with the person they love.

This is a great approach whether you’re in a romantic relationship or not and learning how to spend time valuing yourself and loving who you are is important for everyone.

It is universally believed that in order to truly love another then you must first learn to love yourself, so you must always regard yourself as your number one priority.

There are many ways that you can learn to love yourself this valentine’s day, here are some simple ways to celebrate your most important relationship. (not just today- love and value yourself all year round, own your feelings and follow your heart)

• Keep a journal – Keeping a journal or diary can be a great way to learn more about yourself. If you don’t have time to journal, then perhaps write daily lists of what you want to achieve or what you’re truly thankful for in your life.
• Try new things – It’s important to keep things fresh and to seek new experiences. Do yourself a favour and occasionally step outside of your comfort zone, you could end up finding a new favourite hobby or interest.
• Exercise – Exercising can clear your mind as well as improve your health, it’s a great way to release good hormones.
• Get enough sleep – Very few people prioritise sleep and yet getting enough sleep is vital for your mental and physical health.
• Meditate – Set aside at least 10-30 minutes a day for or meditation or silent reflection. This will help with your stress levels and your overall wellbeing.
• Set boundaries - If there are any toxic people or habits in your life then start working on systematically removing them from your life or set boundaries to keep them at bay.
• Eat well – It’s very easy to rely on junk food but you’ll feel much better overall if you have a healthy diet.

• Indulge your interests - Whether you love curling up with a good book, going to the cinema or playing computer games, remember to take the time to indulge and enjoy your interests.
• Stop comparing yourself to other people - Don’t waste energy on comparison, you will just draw focus from your own needs and ambitions.
• Take care of yourself - Whether it’s treating yourself to a massage, a facial or just a luxurious bubble bath it’s important to treat yourself from time to time and acknowledge that you are deserving of special attention.
• Give yourself credit – It’s so easy to be disparaging about our own achievements and to hide behind self-deprecation but it’s important to recognise and celebrate your accomplishments. When people credit your actions or work then accept their compliments and be proud of yourself.

This Valentine’s Day, why not spend some quality time with yourself? Everyone is aware that loving yourself is important, but many find this basic requirement hard to achieve.

Learning how to love yourself can have a positive influence on every area of your life. When you accept and love yourself for who you are then there are no limits to what you can achieve. You will find that you feel better overall and your positive outlook can bring with it a range of benefits. With love comes value and worth, when you are aware of your own self-worth then you will find this positively affects both your personal and professional life.

Remember that the best kind of love is unconditional, and you are worthy of this all year round. There’s nothing wrong with setting goals for yourself but it’s important to acknowledge that you’re already fantastic and deserving of love.

Don’t let a calendar date interfere with the plans that you’ve made with yourself. If you’re single this valentine’s day but you really feel like eating in a popular restaurant or checking out a new film at your local cinema then go ahead and live your life on your own terms.

Many people forget that the most important relationship that they can have in life is with themselves. Or rather, they are aware of this fact but then they do very little to maintain this key relationship.

When you learn to love yourself and appreciate your own company then the world becomes much more expansive, accessible and exciting overall. Don’t base your self-worth on the external world, turn inward and learn how powerful and valuable you really are.

If you’ve suffered from heartache and disappointments then remember that love can be a healing force, it is powerful and always worth your time pursuing. So, whether you’re celebrating valentine’s day alone or with your partner bear in mind that it’s vital to value yourself all year round. Love is all you need, always choose love.

You are enough, be your own hero and write your own story.

Increase the quality of your life, try healthy foods, expand your interests, visit places that you’ve never been, experiment with new hobbies and engage in exercise. Turn off technology for the day, whatever it takes to truly be in your own company and to feel alive and loved.