Valentine’s Day can bring out the best and worst in people. Instead of celebrating the love we have in our lives be it from a partner, your family or even your pet, some of us focus on things we don’t have which can lead to angst, blame, and disappointment. Taking a mindful approach will help you to avoid the pitfalls of needless drama and stress on Valentine’s Day.
Here are a few examples from insighttimer.com:
1. Focus on gratitude
Instead of focusing on lack or what’s missing, guide your awareness towards the abundance of what you already have in your life, even the basics like food, water, shelter, and air to breathe.
Engaging in grateful thoughts, feelings, and actions can increase your sense of happiness, meaningfulness, and connectedness in life. Gratitude also makes you less susceptible to the trap of scarcity thinking and negative self-talk by regulating your nervous system and putting you in a more relaxed, positive, and resourceful state of mind.
2. Redefine the way you measure your worth
While self-esteem and confidence are related to external factors such as achievements, self-worth is based on who you are as a person.
It’s possible to have high self-esteem and low self-worth. Low self-worth can make you feel ashamed or bad about yourself, and unworthy of loving yourself. To cultivate a healthy and stable sense of worth, bring mindful awareness to the idea that your worth isn’t based on your appearance, possessions, or relationship status. Focus on who you are as a person, the values you stand for, and why. This awareness will help you to develop self-love, compassion, and acceptance, which in turn, will empower your self-worth.
3. Cultivate healing through mindful bodily awareness
Unresolved trauma often lives in the body and is activated when we feel triggered. If you notice that you’re feeling triggered or having a stress or trauma response, guide your awareness to the breath. Set a timer and focus on breathing slowly into the belly for 5-10 minutes. This breathing practice will interrupt the stress response in your brain and will help you to feel more grounded and resourced. Pay attention to your body’s signals and needs throughout the day. Commit to doing things that help you to feel embodied, stable, and safe. Over time, this practice of mindful grounding and breathing will help you to cultivate healing and a feeling of wholeness.
