Celebrate Yourself
As soon as you exit the elevator in my building, you are confronted with a giant mirror on the opposite wall.
Most people usually keep their head down as they walk out, focused on their phone and in a rush to head out the door.
But everyday when I leave, I like to give myself a little once over in the mirror. I appreciate whatever outfit I happened to pick that day and give myself a smile before heading out. It is a small thing but it is just one of the ways that I have consciously tried to celebrate myself.
We have normalized negative self-talk and are so used to focusing on the flaws and things that could be better. We don’t recognize that it can be just as easy to focus on the good things.
Everyone has something that they appreciate about themselves, but often we are not used to focusing on it. We think that if we aren’t perfect, then it means it could be better and isn’t worth celebrating. We think it is conceited or cocky or being full of ourselves.
It isn’t about being conceited and it is not about thinking you are better than anyone else. It is simply appreciating who you are, what you have, and what you have accomplished.
So the next time you crush a work project or set a personal best in the gym or wear a fabulous outfit or are simply feeling good about yourself, take a moment and give yourself a big pat on the back.
And if you need some assistance, here are some easy ways to help you start celebrating yourself.
Redirect. When you notice that you are drifting to the negative, simply redirect your thoughts to something more positive as soon as you catch yourself. If that feels like too much of a leap, then try to think of something else entirely.
Enlist a friend. Try asking a friend if they want to join you in celebrating themselves and share with each other one thing that you appreciate about yourself each day. Also if you are having trouble coming up with something that day, other people can often help reflect back the positive things about ourselves that we overlook.
Find one thing. It is unrealistic to expect to have positive self-talk all the time, especially if you are used to immediately going to the negative, but finding one thing per day is extremely doable. It doesn’t have to be anything big, just one small thing that you genuinely want to celebrate about yourself.
Write it down. Writing down all those things that you appreciate about yourself can be a powerful record for you to have and reflect on. You can try writing down one thing per day or doing an appreciation dump and writing down everything you can think of in one sitting.
Go big. Is there something that you are especially proud of achieving? Give yourself permission to celebrate it in a big way. Whether that is buying yourself something you have been eyeing, hosting a party, posting it on social media, or taking yourself on a trip, don’t be afraid to really celebrate those things that you care about.
