Valentine's Journaling with Helen Colebrook

I think that Valentine’s Day and the month of February is the perfect time to focus on a little self-love. January can be a tough month for many, leaving us feeling tired and perhaps a little gloomy.

I’m going to guide you through some of my favourite journal pages that focus on self-love, along with sharing a printable that you can use in your own journal. I hope these help you to offer yourself a little kindness and support.

Let’s be Honest

The first thing I like to do is reflect on how kindly I’ve been treating myself. I think about both my physical and mental health to get a clear picture of how I’m doing. I then write out the steps that I need to take, that I know will help me to feel happier and healthier.

Focus on Gratitude

In these strange times where a lot of things are restricted, I think it’s really helpful to focus on gratitude. I do this every month, but it now feels even more valuable. If we spend too much time thinking about what we can’t do, it can really bring our mood down. By choosing to reflect on all the good things in life, it can really help to give your spirits a lift.

Habit Tracker

Once you’ve identified steps that you need to take, to enable you to treat yourself more kindly, consider writing these out on a habit tracker. I know that things like getting a good night’s sleep, eating healthily and taking time for creative projects will all make me feel better, so it makes sense to track how often I make time to do these things.

Be Proud of Yourself

Whilst we’re often experts at criticising ourselves, offering ourselves some praise is often an alien concept to us. Try writing down a line of self-praise every evening and recognise the good things that you do. It’s time to be your own best friend and see how much happier you feel.

Personal Values

When we live in a way that is contrary to our own personal values, life can get pretty uncomfortable. Try documenting your personal values and think about how you can live in alignment with them. This is a great way of being kinder to yourself, as you will feel that you are living in a way that feels right to you.

Self-Love Tracker

Use the free printable to write down some activities that you know will make you feel great. Try and carry out as many of them as possible during February and colour them in once completed. They can be big or small acts of self-love, anything that will lift your spirits.

I hope this gives you lots of ideas for using your journal to treat yourself with lots of kindness throughout February and beyond.

8 February 2021