Celebrate Yourself

Do little things and celebrate them.

When I talked with my wife earlier this week, the topic of acknowledging and celebrating one’s accomplishments was brought up.

It can be extremely challenging in our busy-body lives to celebrate ourselves or take a moment to smell the roses, especially during COVID times. That’s why it’s crucial to stop, acknowledge and appreciate the growth and development we are fostering - that we ARE meeting our goals and doing meaningful work.

For me, time feels like it has stopped and everyone is waiting for the world to get back to ‘normal’.

COVID has paused my life and I am waiting patiently for my life to resume, for travel to resume, for safe socializing to resume.

I’ll exercise again when the pandemic’s done. I can’t use the gym right now anyways.

I’ll finish that home improvement project when lumber isn’t so expensive due to supply chain issues. Don’t want to pay a premium on supplies.

I’ll do that self-improvement project later. I just want to rest cause I’m so drained from work.

I have a rational excuse for pausing my life. After all it’s a global pandemic, who am I to disregard it or feel entitled to complain about the impact it’s having on my life?

Reading Darious Foroux’s article reminded me of 2 simple things. Besides all the productivity hacks, all the optimization techniques and the little efficiencies that can save you time, 2 simple rules can help.

1) Just do one thing, because one is non zero.

Accomplishing one thing can be the hardest part. That daunting feeling of so many things to do, so little time. Beating yourself up for all the things that didn’t happen today. Even if it’s 11:59PM, just do one thing. Because one is non zero.

2) Just start. Don’t think.

Don’t let your logical brain hijack your physical body. Sometimes, your mind is your worst enemy and is great at thinking of all the reasons why you will fail, why you can’t do something, why you should wait. Just start , think later, and realize you’re already doing it.

3) Celebrate your wins. Any win is a win and we take those.

The 3rd thing I wanted to add was to celebrate yourself.

Wins aren’t going to be pretty all the time. Sometimes you gotta grind it out and win by a hair’s breadth but a win is a win.

We can go about life always chasing that next thing, that next accomplishment, that next promotion but it can be exhausting and bring you towards that rat-race lifestyle.

I’ve learned that some people don’t always have the self-confidence to recognize their own accomplishments. Some people undercut themselves and humble themselves to the point of not even recognizing their skills, talents, competencies and impact on the world.

You should be confident and proud of your abilities and be able to recognize them in yourself.

Be intentional and pat yourself on the back for these moments.

But…celebrations don’t need to break the bank.

You don’t need to ball out and be lavish about it. You can celebrate in small ways.

It can be a nice relaxing night to yourself for self-care, it can be a nice meal with loved ones, or a drink with your best friends. The point is, it should be an intentional celebration to commemorate yourself - not an afterthought.

You celebrate others intentionally. You don’t say, “Oh we went out yesterday. That kinda was like a birthday meal”. So why sell yourself short that way? Celebrating yourself is part of the process of understanding your worth, understanding your progression, and being motivated to take that next step to bigger and better things. If you are unable to recognize your own growth and take the time to enjoy it, you will be stuck underselling yourself as something less that you are.