MadameNoire
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If you didn’t know, February 15th is recognized by many online users as Single’s Awareness Day. Following directly after the most romantic day of the year, even though the origins of Single’s Awareness Day or “SAD” aren’t clear, the holiday has grown in popularity in recent years for those who are periodically in the lonely hearts club, or those who are just feeling a bit down on themselves because they didn’t have a particular love interest that previous Valentine’s Day. If being single has you a bit sadder than usual today because of all the lovey-dovey, couple-centric romance that surrounds Valentine’s Day, continue reading for a few ways you can treat yourself today and brighten up your mood.
1. Take Yourself On A Date
If you’re single, this is an indulgence you should be doing pretty regularly, not just when your feeling down in the dumps about not having someone special in your life at the moment. Solo dates are a really great way you can take a break from the humdrum of everyday life and tune in with yourself. Spend the day doing what you love, like going to a bookstore and picking out some new reads, taking yourself to brunch, buying yourself some flowers, or all of the above. Whatever you do, just make sure you’re being intentional about doing what you want and things that will make you happy.
2. Pick Up A New Hobby
Conversely, some people might not even be sure what they like to do to make themselves feel good while they’re on their own, especially if they might have recently gotten out of a long term relationship or are used to doing things with a companion by their side. That being said, use today as the day you empower yourself by finding a new hobby that you enjoy doing all alone. Pick up a new skill and keep the stakes low at first so the more and more you accomplish it successfully, the more and more it’ll boost your confidence. Bake yourself a cake and decorate it beautifully, or commit to doing a few easy home decor DIYs to spruce up your space. If you’re looking for something super simple and quick that will end up being fairly rewarding, try journaling a gratitude list of things you really appreciate that are going on in your life.
3. Practice Self-Care
Practicing self-care is a good priority to have anyways, but doing it on SAD can be an especially great time to focus on things that will boost your self-confidence. In your free time today, do whatever self-care practices make you feel and look your best, whether it be getting a good workout in at the gym, doing a face mask, or spending some time painting your nails. These small little things you can do to boost your appearance will instantly make you feel good about yourself regardless of your relationship status.
4. Retail Therapy
It is what it is, everyone loves some good retail therapy every once in a while. What’s great about this indulgence especially this year is that there might be some pretty good President’s Day deals you can snag since it happened to fall on the same day as SAD. As with the rest of this list, there’s no right or wrong way to do this one. Whether you finally purchase something you’ve been saving towards for quite some time, or you make a few expensive and impulsive buys just because you want to and you can afford it, the trick to this little treat is making sure that whatever you purchase, you won’t feel guilty about it later. Keep in mind that you’re single and you work hard, so you deserve to blow some cash every once in while on something for yourself.
5. Put Yourself Out There
If you actually are disappointed and sad that you don’t have a special someone in your life at the moment, instead of wallowing in your unhappy singleness, use today as the day you do something to empower yourself in the situation. Whether it be creating an online dating profile, sprucing up the one you already have, asking out someone who’s been flirting with you for some time now, or finally taking the plunge and agreeing to go out with that persistent person who’s been dying to take you out, choose today to remember that even though you don’t need anyone to make you feel complete and/or content, if having a romantic partner in your life is something that you want, you can actually have it if you’re willing to put yourself out there a little bit.
