Greetings to YOU and a Warm Welcome to our strong community of high-achieving women who intend to thrive amidst the challenges of work and life while showing grace under pressure.

"What 'cha doing mommy?" Dani-Grace asked, as I began writing this. 

"I'm sending my friends a Valentine's Day message about how important it is to love ourselves, so we have even more LOVE to give everyone we care about."

"Oh, I can help!", she chirped.  A few minutes later she was back holding these precious signs (pictured above) and I just had to share these melt-my-heart snapshots!

This Valentine's Day I'm putting a fresh twist on the romantic phrase "Will you be mine" 

to ask an even more important question: "Will you be YOURS?"

If this questions sounds funny, or perhaps a little self-centered, I get it.  Many of us feel that focusing on ourselves is selfish.  So we shower TLC on everyone else, often at the expense of our own self-care. It's easy to end up resentful of the time and attention we are giving others that we are not even giving to ourselves.

Here's 3 Great REASONS You Deserve Your Own Loving, Supportive Attention: 

1.  You can't give what you don't have: As we all know,  at the Heart of truly Successful relationships is deep Respect, Love and Acceptance for the other person. Because we can't give away something we don't have, We must first cultivate Respect, Love and Acceptance within ourselves before we can offer it to family, friends, and clients/customers.

2.  You can't teach what  you don't know: We want to raise happy children who have a healthy dose of self-esteem, yet we sometimes put ourselves last and are self-critical.  Let's give ourselves the same support, kindness, and grace that we would  a close friend so we're teaching them by our own example how to love and accept who they are, even when they aren't perfect.

3.  You can't deal what you don't acknowledge: In order to catch the early warning signs of physical, mental, or emotional imbalance, we must be present to our bodies and paying close attention.  If there's a health concern that you've been avoiding, a boundary that needs to be set with someone, or a change that needs to take place, resolving this quickly and lovingly is the best next step.

Remember, to serve others in the highest way both personally and professionally

includes us, so let's crank up our self-care and cultivate greater self-compassion. :)

So How about it?  "Will You be YOURS" this Valentine's Day?

 Christina Kunkle, CTA Certified Life and Wellness Coach, R.N.

 "Resilience Coach for High-Achieving Women who want to thrive 

by building a life, not just a career."