Celebrating
When we think of celebrating things we accomplish, or our wins from the little ones to the big ones, we often think about celebrating by giving ourself external rewards.
Things like buying ourself a little something for our wardrobes, or maybe even splurging on something. It can be as simple as treating yourself to Starbucks or a treat after getting through a hard day. Maybe you even share the news with your favourite people so they can celebrate you as well.
There are so many things you can do from have a nice bath, drink a glass of wine, relax and listen to music... etc. These things are all amazing and I do them and I love them.
There is one other version of celebrating I love though and it happens internally.
Today I want to talk about why celebrating internally is amazing, how you can do it, and all the things that are worth celebrating!
I think it's easy to get into a loop of thinking only certain things are worth celebrating, and usually when that happens we tend to only see the big things as mattering, or the societal standards as well.
For example it can be really easy to see someone celebrating graduating school, getting a job, buying a new home, getting married, or having a baby.
It might not be so easy to find ways to celebrate things that might not seem worth celebrating: finding an outfit you love, the first time you genuinely think a loving thought about a part of yourself you haven't been able to, trying something new that you were scared to do... This is where celebrating internally comes in!
It looks like:
• Acknowledging what you did whether it was for yourself or someone else (big or small)
(I find the seemingly insignificant stuff even more special and magical to celebrate)
• Giving yourself appreciation / praise / or celebratory thoughts
• Feel the effect of those thoughts in your body - witness what feeling appreciation or celebration actually physically feels like to you and soak it all up!!
Allowing yourself to fully immerse yourself and experience the feeling in your body can literally feel like an internal party!
I do this with feelings on any end of the spectrum whether they are negative or positive, because our feelings have a lot to tell us. However, the first time I experienced truly feeling what my feelings felt like in my body, on purpose, that I can remember, was when I was experiencing joy.
I don't always sit and feel my feelings, but I had been learning a lot about them and it was fascinating to make a conscious decision to notice the joy, and ask myself to just be with it, not do anything, not think anything, just experience the vibration in my body.
It was magical... I had no idea how powerful the feeling actually was until I let myself go into it.
It magnified the joy and made it so clear. What was really interesting to me though, is like any emotion (positive or negative) is that choosing to feel it on purpose didn't make it last forever. It was temporary. I think some people might be bummed when they read that because if we know how to access and feel joy why not feel it all of the time...?
I don't know about you but I don't need or want to feel joy all the time about everything. The main reason I love that all of the feelings we experience are temporary is because it reminds me that I'm never going to be stuck in an emotion and because it makes that moment even more special.
The main reason I'm sharing this story though is so you can get a better idea of what I mean when I say feel the feeling in your body.
If you feel like you need more help to access the feelings you're experiencing try asking yourself these question about the feeling:
What are you feeling now?
Where is this feeling in your body?
What colour is this feeling?
Is this feeling fast or slow?
Is this feeling tight or open?
How does this feeling make you want to react?
Lastly I want you to consider all of the things that maybe seem like they aren't worth celebrating, or that you think other people wouldn't understand why you are celebrating them...
AND ask yourself if you want to celebrate these things!
Maybe it's a divorce or a break up, and other people might not understand why you would be happy about that or celebrating that. You still get to think about your divorce or your break up however you want, and just because you're not doing what people tend to expect in these situations doesn't mean you can't celebrate all of the growth and experiences you've had, and the fact that they are coming to a close.
OTHER PEOPLE DON'T NEED TO UNDERSTAND.
The same goes for having to go out and size up in clothes, and then choosing to let go of clothes that don't fit. This is worth celebrating... It means you chose to do something for yourself that let you live in clothes that fit the body you have now. I am in your corner and celebrating with you on this one. It takes feeling all of the feelings that come up with this, it takes giving yourself some self-acceptance, and it takes giving yourself permission to actually be the human you are right now. ALL WORTH CELEBRATING!
There are so many things worth celebrating in our lives, they just need to be seen by us.
This week I want you to see how many things you can write down or mentally note that are worth celebrating in your life! Whether they are big things, little things, or things that other people just wouldn't understand. Feel celebration in your body, and honour all of the experiences that you want to in your life and create many new beautiful connections with yourself.
Love & Trust Yourself