Let's Celebrate!

“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” - Oprah Winfrey

'Tis the season of celebration! The act of celebrating makes space for laughter, lightness and joy and reminds us about what truly matters -- to connect, to give, to love, and live fully.  

Considering this, why is it we make so much time for celebrating between Thanksgiving and New Years, only to drop it all January 2nd and return to our non-joyous grind? While it makes little sense to keep the Holiday party pace going all year, it makes a lot of sense to keep celebrating on the regular. Celebration brings mindfulness, motivation and positivity to life’s journey.

Celebration is Mindfulness - Celebration puts us into the moment. We stop, make space and time, and give thanks for what we have and where we are in life. We would be foolish to only launch mindful occasions to mark calendar days or big accomplishments.  The daily journey is the vital experience. If you agree that progress is perfection, it makes sense to take more moments to celebrate where you are, who you are and who you’re with, right now, on your journey.  

Celebration is Motivation - Think of where you’ve come from, how you’ve transformed already in the last 10 years, how incredibly unique you are and what you give day in and out to the world around you. This is all cause for celebration! And if you feel down about these thoughts, we might argue you need MORE celebration, not less.

Every small accomplishment -- to better or accept yourself -- could be celebrated and leveraged as a moment of positive encouragement. Celebrating progress silences your inner critic and fuels the spark of motivation. If you let yourself enjoy the journey and celebrate small accomplishments, it brings joy to what you’re doing now and hope to do more (and celebrate it) in the near future.

Celebration is Positive - It magnifies positivity in our life because, at its core, celebration is gratitude. Celebrating puts you in a state of gratitude, and keeps you there, valuing what matters as you become mindful about the joys of daily living. And 20 years of research proves that positive thankfulness makes you healthier, happier, less materialistic and more generous.

Considering these benefits, it behooves us to choose more personal revelry. You don’t need permission from a calendar or an award ceremony to celebrate. Here are a few ways you can choose celebration and incorporate it into regular life:

• Begin with Celebration: Start your day, after hitting snooze or enjoying the shower spray, with a mini celebration -- a small rejoicing for what life has given you on this day. Sunshine, healthy lungs that can breathe deeply, a warm house, fresh coffee, sweet smiling faces of loved ones, furry friends… you get the idea.

• Look for Excuses to Mini-Celebrate: You don’t have to turn into a daily party machine, but finding joy in every day is a worthwhile ideal. This might be your last day on earth, which doesn’t mean you eat donuts and go binge drinking, but you may want to lift your face to the sun, or walk in a crisp breeze or tell someone you love them. All acts of mini-celebration.

• Celebrate Others and Their Milestones: This isn’t all about you. You’re surrounded by interesting, lovely and unique human beings. What are their milestones? What can you celebrate, together, with the people around you?

Before you stop reading and “get back to work,” reflect on the fact that celebration is not silly. It’s a key part of lightening up and having a meaningful life.  Being playful, curious and joyful make your daily life worth living. So get serious about having more fun.