Celebrate Good Times... Come On!!

If you're like the rest of us, the Holidays are a crazy-busy time; rushing to finish those last projects at work, your gift shopping, wrapping, baking , attending the round of Holiday parties... the list can seem endless.

Before you get too caught up in the 'doing' for everyone else though... take a few moments for yourself.  Grab a coffee (or, in my case, a tea!) a piece of paper and a pen, sit down, relax and reflect on the past year.  We get so caught up in moving things forward, in continuing to make plans and goals for our future, that we often overlook taking the time to look back on everything we have achieved and to celebrate those successes.

The end of the year is a great time to take stock, to take a few moments to acknowledge that although there may still be outstanding items on your to-do list (as there always seems to be!), you have crossed many more items off of the list.  On your piece of paper, I'd like you to begin creating a list of everything you achieved over the past year.  Big, small... it doesn't matter.  It all goes down.

Consider work.  What were those special projects and assignments that you worked on.  What new skills did you develop, new experiences did you have?  What about your personal life?  Any issues you finally managed to resolve, money saved, exercise programs started, weight loss goals reached, relationships built or strengthened, spiritual insights gained?  Go through it all and keep writing!  Don't qualify any, there is no room for thoughts of 'it's not big enough... or important enough'.  This is your list, your life.  If you did it, if you achieved it, write it down! 

When the list is as complete as you can make it right now (and there should be at least 20 items there or you're being too critical!), read over each one, considering how you feel about the achievement.  Does it instill you with pride?  Do you get a warm feeling thinking about how much that action helped you grow, or perhaps benefited others?  Revel in this feeling.  Bask in it.  Roll in it.  Bathe in it.  In short... CELEBRATE IT!  Throw a party for one and, if you're really feeling good, invite others to share in your successes and perhaps help them to celebrate some of their own!

As you move into the New Year and begin to formulate thoughts and plans for the year ahead, I want you to keep this list close at hand, as a reminder of just how capable you are.  Any time you find yourself thinking you're not up to a given task, pull this list out and read it over.  It's filled with examples of times when you truly were 'enough'.  Let your past accomplishments serve to inspire and motivate you to continue to grow and challenge yourself through the coming year.

Let me know how this exercise goes for you, what insights you gained, messages learned.  Really want to take it a step further?  Share a success story with us here and let us Celebrate with you!