Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

Today is not just a day for dinners, dates, and presents. Today is also a day to project and acknowledge self-love. It’s always important to cultivate the love within so we can be strong individuals and make others feel good. Self-love is important to living well, it guides our everyday decisions, and it helps us appreciate oneself. I’ve compiled a short prescription list for self-love below to help guide you through your journey.

1. Become Mindful: People who have more self-love tend to know what they think, feel, and want. They are anchored by confidence and act how they wish, not how others want them to.

2. No More Comparisons: It’s something we all do. How many times have you been on a celebrity's social media account and thought to yourself, wow this person has an amazing life. You have to remember people show you what they want you to see. Don’t get caught up in what someone else is doing or how they are living. You are unique and no one can be you. So live each day spectacularly.

3. Build your ability to let go: If someone, something, or a situation bothers you, let it go, it’s not worth it.

4. Find what makes you happy and do it: Whether it's catching up on your favorite reality show, traveling, or spending time with friends. Find what makes you happy and spoil yourself. We are all put on this Earth for a reason. We weren’t given the reason but we have been given the opportunity to figure it out.

5. Build a community of people who are for you: We all have loved ones and people we trust. It may only be a handful of individuals but that’s ok. Surround yourself with people who uplift you, challenge you, and unconditionally support you.

-Shayma S. Sulaiman