Don’t Forget to Celebrate Yourself

My twin sister graduated with a Doctorate degree in Education this past weekend. My family came to Houston from Kentucky, Alabama, and Colorado, including my baby niece. It was a celebration! Good times were had by all.

I enjoyed celebrating my sister’s success. I ran around Houston the morning before to get the perfect gift for her and sneak it into her garage while she was out of the house with my mom’s help. She cried when she saw it. I loved it!  I gave a toast at the graduation party following the ceremony. (I may or may not have referenced her beautiful twin sister! ?). We went to the beach on Sunday. All in all, I truly enjoyed the experience.

Yet when it comes to myself I don’t always pull out all the stops. A lot of the times I buy other people better gifts than I buy myself! My mastermind sister once called me “modest Charlene.” It’s true. I always say, “I only” or “I just” when it comes to something I’ve accomplished. In my head I have SOOOO far to go. What’s there to celebrate?

But celebrating feels good and it’s good for you. Not only is it good for you, it’s good for all the people who are a little bit behind you. Sometimes we’re so focused on who’s ahead of us and how far we have to go that we forget about those who are following behind us, watching us. We should celebrate ourselves and share our victories for those people too.

We should celebrate ourselves because we’re the first in line to celebrate and cheer for someone else. We should celebrate ourselves because if anyone deserves our praise and adulation it’s us!

So, don’t forget to celebrate yourself. For what?
– For making it through the week! (Amen!) 
– For keeping the peace when you could have let someone have it
– For trying something new
– For trying something old, again
– For eating healthy (at least once…you did eat healthy this week at least once, right?)
– For believing in yourself and your dreams
– For pushing through whatever walls you had to push through and I know you pushed through at least one wall in recent times

We don’t have to wait for the big moments in life to celebrate. We’re accomplishing feats every single day. Everyday we could crumble, give in, give up, and show out. But instead we preserve. We keep charging towards all that we know life can be. We maintain our character and integrity in a world full of the opposite. We show up again and again and are always willing to try just one more time.

And for that, let’s celebrate ourselves.

As you reflect on this last week or month of your life think of how you can celebrate and honor yourself, because you’re worth it. Life is lived in the small moments, not the big ones, so we should celebrate in the small ones. Small moments of celebration could give you the energy and resolve to keep going. It’s beneficial to stop and acknowledge how far we’ve come on a consistent basis. Celebrating your victories is an important part of your journey.

Don’t forget or neglect to celebrate yourself. You rock! You deserve it. You need it.

And as you stop to celebrate all that you are and are becoming, know that I celebrate you too!

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S!  ???

~ Charlene