Chris Evergreen here. Welcome to your daily goodwill
for Saturday, February 14th, 2026. It's Valentine's
Day on a Saturday, which means the world is split
into two camps right now. There are people with
dinner reservations they made three weeks ago,
and there are people who forgot what day it was
until about 10 minutes ago. Both groups are feeling
some kind of pressure. The first group is managing
expectations. like a project manager with a clipboard.
The second group is frantically googling whether
grocery stores sell decent flowers on Saturday
afternoons. And honestly, both approaches are
missing something simple. Here's today's advice.
The best thing you can do today is lower the
stakes. Not because love doesn't matter, but
because pressure is terrible at creating connection.
When you're worried about getting everything
right, You stop being present. You start performing
instead of participating. So here's the move.
Pick one small gesture that feels true to who
you are. Maybe it's making breakfast without
being asked. Maybe it's writing three sentences
on a card about why you appreciate someone. Maybe
it's texting a friend you haven't talked to in
months just to say you're glad they exist. The
gesture doesn't need to be grand. It just needs
to be real. If you're with a partner, focus on
one moment of actual attention. Put your phone
face down during dinner. Ask them one question
you don't already know the answer to. Listen
to their answer without planning your response
while they're talking. If you're solo today,
do something kind for yourself without the pressure
of it being transformative. Watch something you
actually want to watch. Order food you genuinely
like. Take a walk without turning it into exercise.
The point isn't to fix loneliness or manufacture
joy. It's just to treat yourself like someone
worth being gentle with. And your goodwill move
for today. Send a message to someone who made
your life better this week. It can be short.
Something like, Hey, thanks for helping me with
that thing on Tuesday. It mattered. Or, That
conversation we had really stuck with me. Appreciate
you. No need to make it poetic, just honest.
That's your daily goodwill for Saturday, February
14th, 2026. Love works best when it's not trying
so hard to prove itself. Talk soon.