As readers, we all know that Valentine’s Day comes with expectations. One of the biggest holidays of the year, it has become just as commercialized as Christmas, with ads for flowers, candy, weekend getaways, dinners at expensive restaurants, and just the right gift (generally jewelry). It is a highly emotional day – for both men and women. Men because of the financial outlay, and women because their expectations are connected with their self-confidence and self-worth.
How many of us have worked with clients (literally on Valentine’s Day!), where they are asking if a special someone is going to call, or take them somewhere. What can we do to help them see the bigger picture, to put things into perspective? The first thing that we need to do is to step back from the emotions of this day, and find our own center.
The first thing that we need to do is to step back from the emotions of this day, and find our own center.
We give our power away if we place too much importance on the small things …
Like this one day out of the year. We also give our power away if we try to control this day. (I remember years ago, walking by a co-workers desk and commenting on the lovely roses her significant other had sent her. I didn’t say so, but I did think that it was strange to send them to her at work. I found out from another co-worker that this woman had demanded that her Significant Other send flowers to her at work!)
Before we can allow another person to love us, and before we can allow ourselves to love them, we need to first love and accept ourselves – our entire self, strong points, weak points and all! If we do not embrace and incorporate our weak points into our whole self, we allow them the ability to overwhelm us. Speaking from personal experience here!