Three Reasons You Should Celebrate Today

Celebrating? That’s something I don’t think about very often, so when I read a recent blog post by friend and author Kim Steadman about celebration, what she said took me by surprise. So much so that I asked her to do a guest post.

When Kim’s not sweeping dog hair, experimenting in the kitchen, or doodling on paper, she is writing, encouraging and mentoring authors. She is a freelance writer, speaker, and ministers alongside her family in Grand Prairie, TX. She’s currently working on a new prayer journal and a new children’s picture book. You can find what she’s up to next at KimSteadman.com. Drop by and say hi!

Three Reasons You Should Celebrate Today

By Kim Steadman

When’s the last time you celebrated one of your successes?

I realized the other day I had not included enough celebrating moments in my life. Oh, yes, I celebrate the holidays and important life milestones like birthdays and anniversaries. I’ve even given myself a pat on the back when I self-published a book.

But all those celebrations aren’t enough. It’s almost like the favored Texas Wolf Brand Chili. The old commercial asked, “How long has it been since you had Wolf Brand Chili? Well, it’s been too long.”

There is power in celebrating. Once you learn about it and allow it to fuel your writing successes, I’m sure you’ll do more celebrating as well.

The power is an entire whole-body experience. It affects both your physical and psychological being along with the energy surrounding you. Now, before you thumb your nose and put me down as one of those woo-woo airy-fairy writers, let me assure you. I’m not. I’m about as down to earth as they come. But the science doesn’t lie.

Celebrating Changes Your Body

First, celebrating changes your body at one key component. It’s a chemical in your body called endorphins. The happy side of your brain needs endorphins. They help you weather life’s storms during pain and stress. Celebrating releases the endorphins into your mind. In a nutshell, endorphins help to:

• Ease depression
• Reduce stress and anxiety
• Boost your self-esteem
• Reduce weight
• Help reduce pain

Sleeping bears pack on extra weight for the winter. It would be nice if we could stockpile endorphins. Since we can’t, it’s critical we do an excellent job of releasing them regularly.

Celebrating Changes Your Mind

My best illustration for this point starts with my rescue dog Denver. When he joined our family, I sensed he was smart. So, we began Doggy School. He learned new behaviors, and I taught him using positive reinforcements. I used happy voices, doggy liver treats, and dog biscuits.

Our 12-year-old grumpy dog even got in on the training since it involved food. Getting them to respond to the practice without gifts has been a challenge though. Oh, they will do it a few times. But once they know there’s not a biscuit or nibble following, they lose interest.

Well, guess what? You’re the same as a puppy!

What’s the use of all the hard work, if you don’t get a celebration at the end? No, you don’t have to celebrate every time. But have you ever struggled, pushed through a project, over and over? Then the next week you start another hard project, finish and start again. The road of jumping from success or milestone and not celebrating is dark and lifeless. The path leads to less focus and decreased performance.

Remember I mentioned how celebrating affects the energy in your surroundings? Let’s move along to the Snowball Effect.

The Celebrating Snowball Effect

Celebrating has a snowball effect. Have you ever watched a video where someone is happy, excited, and laughing. If you have, and you happened to be near a mirror, you may have noticed your reflection. Your eyes softened, and you may have even smiled along with them. The celebration on that video had a snowball effect on you.

The same happens when you take the time to celebrate your success and include others in the celebration. You create a contagious feeling of “happy.”

When you surround yourself with others who care about you, they are ready to cheer you. And, yes, they will want to celebrate with you!

At the moment you start your celebrating party, you become a teacher. Others subconsciously learn to celebrate their victories and successes by celebrating with you. Since those people are part of your high-vibe tribe, you will get to revel in their accomplishments when the time comes.

So, how do we wrap this up? It starts with you developing your celebrating mindset.

The Celebrating Mindset

First, determine in yourself that you will celebrate more. Next, look at your goals and break them down into mini-goals, actions, and mini-actions. Then choose which ones will be your milestones to celebrate!

Far too often, I fell into the trap of only celebrating as a bonus after I completed a BIG task or goal. It’s no wonder I burned out in the corporate world. As a writer, I’m correcting my bad habits.

But the reality is, if you don’t plan on celebrating your 100,000-word book until it’s published, yet you’re only on 10,000 words, and those words took 2 years to write…then you will get discouraged. Believe me, as a writer, you will get discouraged.

How Much Does It Cost You To Celebrate?

Don’t look at celebrating as a bonus to life. Instead, consider it the fuel you need to keep writing. Like a roaring fire needs logs added to keep the flame alive, so is taking the time to celebrate.

Celebrating is the fuel we need to keep our successes growing. Thomas J. Peters said, “Celebrate what you want to see more of.” So, if you want to see more finished writing works, celebrate the milestones along the way.

Let me leave you with another little thought.

Celebrating doesn’t mean spending money. After an intense couple of weeks, I finished a project. I scheduled myself a celebration moment the next day by watching a sappy holiday movie with no guilt.

My celebration included a new hot tea flavor, which was another celebrating treat. I snuggled on the love seat with my fluffy blanket and dogs on my lap. Then I dove into the small-town world of a 2-hour Hallmark holiday movie. The entire time was enjoyable knowing it was my celebration to commemorate a job well done.

Make a list of some things you enjoy doing but don’t take the time to do. Then use them as your celebrating rewards along with telling others so they can help you celebrate. Remember, celebrating with others is important. That’s why having your support tribe is essential.

I plan to celebrate more next year. I’ve chosen it as my theme word, and I’m encouraging my writing club to celebrate their successes! If you write and would like to join our writing tribe, you can visit us at the Write More; Write Now Facebook group!