Happy Friday, Ambitious Fam! As Valentine’s Day approaches, I wanted to remind you all to show a little love to the most important person in your life: YOURSELF! It’s easy to get wrapped up in providing for everyone else that you forget to fill your own cup. In that spirit, today’s Friday Feels post is self-cared themed. I gathered a few self-care and self-love posts that I encourage you to incorporate into your routine. 

Self-Care vs. Self-Love

With the terms self-care and self-love thrown around so frequently, have you ever stopped to wonder what the difference was? Or how about which one you should practice more of? Spoiler alert: you need them both! This article by The Everygirl breaks down the terms in an easy to digest way as well as provide a few tips on how to incorporate them. Check out the article here. 

Things You Must Know About Self-Care

One of the tough things about self-care being a buzzword topic is that there now exists a picture-perfect ideation of what self-care looks like. You know what I mean; the image that self-care is all facemasks and bubble baths. Maxie McCoy’s guest post on Carly the Prepster shares some of the real aspects of self-care that should be considered while you attempt to incorporate it into your routine. View the post here. 

Budget-Friendly Self-Care Ideas

Self-care can get expensive y’all. I was pretty excited when the Start Today Brand shared this post with 30 Free Self-Care Ideas for those of us operating on a budget. Their list includes everything from eating outside in the sunshine (one of my personal favorites in the warmer months) to refreshing your morning routine (more on my morning routine coming soon!). Check out the complete list here!

Easy Ways to Practice Self-Love

In addition to their post about the difference between self-care and self-love, the Everygirl also has a great post about ways to practice self-love. One of my favorites on the list is to create a self-love mantra. As someone who believes in the power of words and manifestation, I know that the repetition of positive statements can help you believe that you are worthy of love. Click here for the complete list. 

My Favorite Self-Care Practice

One of my favorite self-love practices is to make sure that I am protecting my peace. Last February, I shared a post about why protecting your peace is important for your mental health. The energy that you surround yourself with can greatly influence how you feel about yourself (hence, why it is an essential aspect of self-love). You are a combination of who you hang out with most, after all! Check out this post for some tangible steps that you can take to protect your peace. 

Have a great weekend!