Valentine’s Day can come with a mixed bag of emotions, and more recently, there has been a steep decline in the popularity of celebrating Valentine’s Day. Even if you are in a great relationship worth celebrating, there can be a number of things that keep you apart (ahem, looking at you, deployments). If you aren’t in a relationship, Valentine’s Day would be the holiday to be a grinch about. So, if all you have for Valentine’s Day this year is last year’s memories or tomorrow’s dreams to feast on, know you aren’t alone. Campaigning for Galentine’s Day has become really popular over the last few years for a reason. If Cupid hasn’t shot an arrow through your heart strings for the season, let’s look at some tips and ways to stay positive during the celebrations of love:
- Celebrate your accomplishments. In this fast-paced world of ours, we hardly spend time acknowledging our successes before we redesign and upscale what success looks like for ourselves. Take some time for self-love and recognition. If you aren’t where you want to be, brainstorm and plan steps to get you where you want to be.
- Reconnect with an old friend. Bingeing Netflix, ordering pizza and emotionally eating heart-shaped chocolates might make you feel good in the moment, but it doesn’t cure loneliness. Why not pick up the phone and check up on a friend you haven’t kept up with as much as you wish you had? Strengthening friendships is the perfect way to cope with a lonely night.
- Host a Galentine’s brunch. Thanks to commercialism, Galentine’s Day has been marketed and party products are being produced just for this special occasion. You can make it as glamorous or laid back as you want. Even a trivia party on Zoom with entertaining backgrounds and no work talk sounds fun.
- Take time to make sure you’re recognizing the important people in your life. Think of fun ways to thank the people who are always there for you. When you aren’t focused on yourself, contentment and joy come rather quickly.
- If the reason you’re less than enthused about this year’s love holiday is because your own relationship isn’t thriving, know you aren’t alone and it’s okay. Help is always out there. Call your battle buddy, read a book about relationships or even check out Military OneSource’s relationship resources for more tips and services, like free counseling.
Valentine’s Day is meant to celebrate love, not just between couples, but between friends, family…you name it! Whether you’ll be celebrating Valentine’s Day or Galentine’s Day, take heart even if it’s just yours, and carry on celebrating love, friendship and life.
