Valentine’s Day celebrates romantic love. We plan dates, buy gifts, and make an extra effort to show our partner they matter. But what if we took this spirit of love and connection beyond our romantic relationships?
Think about how you treat (or should treat) your boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, partner, or significant other. You listen when they speak. You notice when they’re having a rough day. You remember the little things that matter to them. Now imagine bringing even a fraction of that attention to other relationships in your life. What a difference that can make!
Try starting at home. Put the phone down during dinner. Actually listen to your kids’ stories about school or your roommate’s thoughts about their day. Call your parents without scrolling through social media while they talk. These small moments of real attention matter more than we think.
In the workplace, this mindset becomes even more powerful. Instead of viewing other women as competition, imagine the impact of becoming each other’s strongest supporters. Share credit when a female colleague contributes to your project. Mention her name in meetings when she’s not there to speak up for herself. Celebrate her wins as if they were your own. When women support women, everyone rises – and the workplace transforms from a space of competition to one of collaboration.
Then take it a little bit further. Learn the names of your coworkers’ families, ask what they did over the weekend. Say ‘thank you’ to the maintenance staff, the security guards, and the delivery people.
In the outside world, look your server in the eye when they’re pouring your coffee or ask the cashier how they are doing while they are ringing up your groceries. When you go to lunch with a friend, take your phone off the table, make eye contact and be fully present.
We live in a world where genuine human connection is becoming rare. Most of us spend our days looking down at screens, barely noticing the people around us. But real connection doesn’t require grand gestures – just small moments of genuine attention.
You give what you get. And doesn’t everyone just want to be seen and heard? When you show love and kindness, it tends to come back to you. Not always from the same people, and not always right away. But when you make the effort to really see people, to acknowledge their humanity, it changes how you move through the world. It changes how the world responds to you.
This Valentine’s Day, absolutely celebrate your romantic relationship if you have one. But consider it a starting point rather than the whole story. Take that same energy you use to show love to your partner and spread it a little further. Build up other women instead of competing with them. Support your coworkers instead of just tolerating them. The more real connections you create, the richer all your relationships become, including your romantic ones.
Love isn’t just about romance, it’s about being present, about paying attention, and there’s always room for more of that in our world.
Why not use Valentine’s Day as a jumping off point to create a new mindset? Show the love, undivided attention, accolades, kindness, and appreciation to your partner, family, friends, colleagues, and even strangers – every single day. If everyone tried just a little bit harder to make this shift, we could transform our relationships – and the world – with one small act of kindness at a time.