This Valentine’s Day, practice self-love not selfishness

As the season of adoration approaches, there’s one thing on my mind: self-love. Caring for yourself is the key to loving others. Though Valentine’s Day is an occasion often filled with sweet treats, red hearts and flowers, the true takeaway of this romantic holiday is acknowledging the beauty around us in all of its forms, including in yourself. 

There is often a grey area found somewhere between self-love and selfishness. These two traits are commonly mistaken for each other but are vastly different. Where self-love focuses on loving yourself and others, it's also a reminder to take care of yourself in all aspects of life. Selfishness is about taking care of oneself without considering those around you. Ultimately, dedicating time to ourselves helps us to develop a true sense of self, our feelings and our inspirations. This means we can go on to be our best selves for the ones we love.

Practicing self-love comes by surrounding ourselves with uplifting things and people. This helps to elevate our human experience and connections. I practice self-love on a daily basis by carving out time for the activities that bring me joy like designing fine jewelry, yoga and meditating. I surround myself with personal inspirations, whether it be paintings, architecture or nature, and turn them into wearable-art. To practice on your own terms, ensure your daily routine makes time for the things that inspire you, the people you care about, treating your body and mind well and disconnecting from the outside world to focus on yourself from time to time.

Self-love is all about paying attention to the smaller details in everyday life. We must remember to treasure all things, big or small, that will make us happy. Last year for Valentine’s Day, I released the Made To Be Loved collection, a curation dedicated to romantics who truly believe in the artistry of handcrafted jewelry that never loses its shine. 

When you feel true happiness within yourself, you radiate this to the rest of the world. As you reach out to assist and support those around you, or those in need, make a conscious effort to maintain a positive attitude, radiating positive energy towards others, while avoiding receiving the negative energy. When you feel true happiness within yourself, you radiate this to the rest of the world. The Smile collection was made for this exact reason. I handcrafted this range of gemstone necklaces for the sole purpose of making those around me feel joy.

By staying inspired, creative and practicing self-love, this Valentine’s Day you’ll radiate affection to everyone around you.  Dedicating time for yourself will draw other like-minded individuals towards you all year round, not just on this romantic holiday.