Be confident this Valentine’s Day

by Bruce Hartley
Life Issues Columnist

It’s almost that time again. The time that single people dread and try to ignore and some couples celebrate with cards, flowers and candy. The date, of course, is February 14, and it brings both joy and sadness to different people.

For those who are single and wish they had someone to share their life with, Cupid’s holiday can be a date they prefer is not on the calendar. Valentine’s Day ranks up there with New Year’s Eve for some singles. My own mother reminded me about not wanting to be at a New Year’s Eve party at midnight, because she didn’t want to be the only one who didn’t have someone to kiss.

I have spent a few Februarys single in my lifetime and I don’t profess to be an expert on this topic. From my background as professor in Mass Communication, I want to remind you all that Valentine’s Day can often be extremely commercialized.

If you will keep this in mind as you see the Hallmark Channel showing warm and fuzzy movies and you see the card and candy aisles exploding at your local store; then maybe you can stop and remember that what’s most important is your ability to be confident in who you are.

Love yourself first and be confident in yourself and when you are ready to commit to one person, I believe your confidence will attract the right person. I recently heard that the thing that most people find most attractive is confidence.

Think about it. Don’t you enjoy being around a person who is happy and feels good about their life? This can show up in how they relate to friends and family, how they interact with coworkers, how they give back to their community and a host of other examples. Confident people seem to be charismatic. The charisma draws others to want to be around them. I sincerely think this may be the key to connecting with others as friends, family or soul mates.

As for the couples who celebrate Valentine’s Day, I hope you find unique ways to share your love with your special person. Don’t freak out that Valentine’s Day is on a Tuesday this year. February 14 doesn’t always fall on a weekend, and this means working couples will need to decide to take off work or celebrate on the weekend before or after the holiday. This is not the end of the world.

My partner and I have agreed to celebrate during the weekend following. Thanks to social media, I will be able to profess my love for him on Facebook on the actual day. This will certainly make some of my Facebook friends ill. Oh well. I am confident and will be loud and proud.

Don’t forget to share your appreciation to people in your life besides your soul mate. Parents, kids, coworkers, siblings and neighbors need a kind word on Valentine’s Day and you can tell them you love them via social media, face-to-face or even old fashioned snail mail. Our world needs more love and don’t miss this chance to share some love and happiness in February.

Have an awesome Valentine’s Day.

Copyright 2017 The Gayly – February 12, 2017 @ 12:05 p.m.