February is the month where we tend to put a lot of focus on love. Whether it comes in the form of celebrating love, being in love, finding love, the common denominator is…love. While this is a beautiful concept that we often find ourselves indulging in (who doesn’t like getting flowers delivered at work and having any excuse to indulge in chocolate covered everything!?!), we also are aware of how emotionally and physically exhausted we can sometimes get especially considering everything that is going on in the world these days. We all need a little nudge in the right direction in order to truly understand the importance of advocating for more self-care, even in the smallest ways. So, Chan and I want to share with you six ways to make sure that you are loving yourself! Then, you can eat the chocolate (in moderation), we promise!

“ What if you simply devoted this year to loving yourself more? ”

Take Breaks From Social Media

Social media is a gift and a curse. Great because it allows you to connect with people that you may not have otherwise had the chance to meet but, can also be a double edged sword because of its convenience and ability to enhance insecurities and increase distractions. I decided just this week to unplug for five days as a way to grow mentally and spiritually and block out everything that is going on if only for a couple of days. It required me to remove all apps from my phone and I still caught myself picking up my phone scrolling, looking for the apps but it was a relief not to have to deal with it in any capacity for awhile. Chan makes an attempt to be “phone free” one day a week and finds that to be a way to remove herself from the chaos that an instant newsfeed can bring. We both are in a business that strongly benefits from the grassroots approach taken with the use of social media so, we get it. Social is a significant part of our businesses and it’s needed. But, the beauty of “unplugging” and realizing that the internet will be ok without you is just pretty darn refreshing.

Get Some Sleep

I have always heard that it is important for a lady to get her “beauty rest” but with this generation being all “Team No Sleep”, people are taking pride in staying up all day and all night to work on their dreams. But, what good is accomplishing your goals when you are struggling internally, not even aware of the damage you are doing to your body? So, while I am all about staying on the grind - and wishing there were more than 24 hours in the day - my sleep is something I am no longer willing to compromise. Not only can lack of sleep affect you externally but it can also affect your overall health too.

Surround Yourself With Positive and Supportive People

One thing we both feed off of in both our creative and our not-so-creative moments, is being around people who bring something different to the table. Different perspectives, different visions, different ideas, and different personalities are one of the greatest ways to spark imagination and inspiration in those moments when you’re feeling drained. For us, though, it goes deeper than that. There have been times in both of our lives where our inner circles did not reflect the type of people that we wanted to be. One hard, albeit necessary lesson we both had to learn is: when you keep people around you that lack focus and drive it can result in you feeling more accomplished than you really are, which ultimately stunts your growth, right? It can be hard to let go of people that no longer serve you (and who you, in turn, can no longer serve) but sometimes you have to let go in order to grow.

Check Out 3 More ways To Love Yourself