Take Yourself on a Date & Give Yourself a Gift

Gift giving is one of the 5 love languages, and we give gifts to others to show them we think of them, care about them, and value them. Unfortunately, we don’t always receive gifts we desire, or sometimes we don’t receive them at all.

While others can have good intentions and even be skilled gift-givers (a quality that is seriously lacking in today’s world), something can always slip through the cracks, leaving some of our desires unfulfilled.

In response, we can get angry at others for not being amazing mind readers, wait indefinitely for people to give us everything we want on a silver platter, or simply give ourselves what we desire. In other words, I propose that we take care of ourselves the way we want others to take care of us.

Here are some ideas for gifts you can give yourself:

1. Take yourself on a date: Visit a café, restaurant, or event you have always wanted to explore. As a bonus, invite a friend who would love to join you.

2. Buy yourself “flowers”: Flowers are just an example of an item that many people want others to give them, but they never buy for themselves. Eventually, they realize they have been waiting too long, so it is a great item to gift oneself.

3. Travel to a new country: The world is a big place with countries like India, the United Kingdom, or Japan to add to our bucket list. Often, people wait too long to visit these places, so why not proactively plan a trip there?

In my life, on one of my birthdays, I bought myself the latest smartphone and later a new computer simply because no one else had given them to me. Initially, I was waiting for someone to magically know what I wanted. Then I shared my wishlist with my family and friends. Eventually, I just purchased these items because I desired them and didn’t want to wait any longer. 

I guess I was waiting for someone’s permission, approval, or motivational pep talk to do it. In the end, the only approval I needed was my own. So, I did it and have been happy ever since.

Today, I regularly take myself on a date and give myself presents, going to places I want to go and doing things I want to do. I no longer wait for others to give me the perfect life I always wanted, as I realized long ago that waiting is a losing tactic.

Many people are waiting for the world to give them everything they want on a silver platter, complaining that the world is harsh and unfair. Most of them are not bold and brave enough to pursue what they want, shying away from asking and therefore getting what they ultimately desire.

Instead, we need to envision the perfect life we want and give it to ourselves. If that means you have to take yourself on a date, so be it. If others decide to help us reach our goals, great! If not, well, then we just have to do it ourselves, isn’t it?