Valentine’s Day SUCKS! Valentine’s Day is synonymous with love, passion, and romance. It’s a day of gift-giving and declarations of adoration. How can the day of love be anything short of glorious? How can Valentine’s Day suck?
It doesn’t.
Social Comparisons and Keeping Up with the Joneses, does!
Social Comparison is the new “Keeping up with the Joneses”. It’s this phenomenon on social media where you repeatedly compare yourself to others. Have you ever spent hours scrolling through social media profiles making social comparisons? You might notice someone’s new car or home and unconsciously compare your car and home to theirs. If yours is nicer you might feel a sense of pride until you see the next person’s post of a newer more expensive car.
Social comparisons and feeling like you have to keep up with the Joneses never allow you to feel completely satisfied or excited for long periods. You might get a short high or feeling of superiority but that is quickly replaced with a sense of lack, inadequacy, and that you are not enough. periods
Gift-giving holidays, like Valentine’s Day, are big social media days. People post pics of the lavish gifts they received and the cute ways their partner declared their love.
Valentines sucks when you have thoughts like, I wish my man (woman) did that for me; he should be more like this guy; he should know what I like by now. And if you’re single, “Valentine’s Day sucks” because of FOMO, fear of missing out.
If you find yourself caught up in the scroll, and thinking Valentine’s sucks, close your apps, and put your phone down.
The antidote to social comparison and keeping up with the Joneses is GRATITUDE.
Want the best Valentine’s Day gift ever? Do the GRATITUDE Couples Experiment.
1. Grab two LOVE bags, one for you and one for your honey.
2. Choose a start and end date.
3. For the next 36 days, you and your loved one will catch each other doing something great. Write that action on an “I LOVE You card”. Store it away in your bag.
4. At the end of the month, plan a special evening where you will read what you wrote to each other. (Imagine what happens next! Bom chicka bom bom!)
When you focus on what your honey did right, you can scroll social media all day long but the way you make social comparisons will change. You will feel for others, celebrate in their joys, and be grateful for the partner you have.
Do the GRATITUDE Couples Experiment and you will never say or think Valentines suck again!
