It has become a Hallmark kind of world. Take for example Valentine's Day. What started out as a day of expressing your love to another person has become an overblown and very commercialized occasion. I am sure you could not go anywhere without seeing red or pink hearts, roses, teddy bears and boxes of chocolates. It leaves some of us wanting more, others feeling left out or lonely and some just annoyed. To me the idea of loving another is very important and a huge part of life. I would go on to say loving yourself is just as important. The best part love does not need to "bust the bank" or make us go broke. As human beings we are often better at loving our cats and dogs then showing love to ourselves.

Many of us believe that self-love or self-care is a nice to have thus ignore ourselves or cater to the needs of others first. A sense of self-worth and well-being is the foundation to a meaningful and productive life. That means we need to take care of ourselves, believe our time is valuable and sometimes pat ourselves on the back. Doing for others is wonderful and putting others first are two great things to do. However, it should not be at the cost of your own needs. It is not selfish or mean to claim time for yourself. We need to block out the image of the "Me Generation" and focus on the me in meaningful and to really be able to have a meaningful life and relationships one was have self-worth.

It does not have to be Valentine's Day or the day of love as they say everyday or any occasion is a fine time to send a self-love card to yourself. By reflecting on how you bring love into the world and to others will give you will a sense of fulfillment and nourishment.

Read the following "card" out-loud while filling in the blanks.

Dear Me,

Today I am celebrating being me! or whatever holiday it is

I make other people happy by ______________.

I make myself happy by _______________.

I am thankful for _______________ and __________.

I bring love and kindness into the world by ________________________.

I offer ________________________________to my friends and family.

I practice self care by __________________________.

I make time for myself and what is most important to me. I am there for others and share my love.

Happy have a Happy Day! Feel free to read it for every occasion from Valentine's Day to Thanksgiving. Simply change the ending to Happy Day or whatever the occasion. You can never reflect too much on what makes us happy and how we spread our love to our friends and family.

Author's Bio: 

Lisa Rocks McKeogh is a Personal and Business Coach. She has an extensive background in Advertising and Marketing which she combines with her coaching to help her clients thrive in their life, work and play. Lisa is focused on Life Coaching, Leadership Coaching, Career Coaching and Personal Branding. She can be reached at lisa@rocketlifecoaching.com.