Do you enjoy celebrating milestones in your life? What about celebrating without an obvious reason or cause?
Celebratory energy has a way of making us feel energized and alive. When we have a special occasion to look forward to, we receive immediate joy through anticipating the fun we’ll have in the future. We experience an elevated feeling of hope and excitement for what is to come.
But what if our big occasions are far and few between? Must we put our anticipation and excitement on hold?
It makes little sense to wait for an external reason to feel excited and energized about life. When we believe we have to wait for a reason to celebrate, we waste precious opportunities to enjoy life right now.
There is great power in realizing we can feel excited in the moment without actually being in the midst of a special event. Moving forward, all we really need to do is give ourselves the gift of celebrating more often – simply because we can.
Imagine what might change in our society if each of us started every ordinary day feeling deep gratitude for our lives. Think of how we might treat one another if we all felt good about who we are. Wouldn’t it feel awesome if we patted ourselves and each other on the back a little more often?
The more we celebrate right now in the moment, the more reasons we have to celebrate.
In an effort to remind myself to celebrate life without having a specific event or reason, I made this list of ideas to add more celebration in my daily life. Give them a try and see how many new ways and reasons you can find to celebrate your life.
1) Start Each Day With Gratitude
Sure it’s natural to feel deep gratitude when we reach our goals or when we are celebrating something big – like the birth of a child, or witnessing someone we love experience a major win.
We may also experience a sense of gratitude when tragedy strikes and we realize how precious life is. Sometimes our wake up calls remind us of everything we do have to be grateful for.
But what about waking up every day with a sense of gladness and joy because we are alive right now? That’s the kind of celebration I’m talking about. The kind that doesn’t have to be provoked by a big reason or wake up call.
Idea: The moment you open your eyes tomorrow, see what feels different if you shout out: “Yippee, I’m here and I get another chance to have a brand new adventure today!” Then carry that energy around with you throughout your day – stay connected to your sense of deep gratitude for the gift of life.
2) Spice Up Mundane Tasks
Some days can feel monotonous. Perhaps it’s because of the nature of tasks before us, or the weather, or any number of other reasons. The doldrums can feel very real.
When life feels drab, celebrating is generally the last thing on our minds. But a little celebratory energy can go a long way in spicing up our day and mundane tasks.
Idea: If the task and environment allows, add music to brighten the mood. Sometimes what we need to shake things up, is to actually shake them up. Adding music or movement while we complete our tasks, can be a fun way to pass the time. When we set the mood to enjoy the process of whatever we are up to, the process can become enjoyable in a matter of moments.
3) Head Outdoors
Nature provides us with everything we need to feel good about life. From fresh air, intricate ecosystems and gorgeous views – the great outdoors provides ample evidence that life in all its forms is a miracle and a gift.
Even though we know all of this, sometimes we might forget how much better we feel after we’ve spent some time connecting to our natural environment.
No matter what our reasons are for not spending time outside, it’s important to remember that connecting to nature is an integral part of our well-being.
Idea: If you spend your days working indoors, think outside of the box (and get outside of the box literally). Take your lunch outside, or have a meeting while you walk – a walk and talk! Bike to work, or park a little further away and walk if you can. Breaking up the day, through fresh air and outdoor time, adds lightness and freedom to our day that feels great. If you can’t get outside, open the window – allow yourself to feel the physical effects of nature. Reap the rewards from breathing fresh air and awakening all of your senses. Be creative when organizing meet ups with friends and loved ones. Instead of gathering at a café, meet for a walk outside. Take your exercise outside more too, even if it’s just stretching and yoga on the patio. Spend time outside each day and you’ll never run out of ideas why life is amazing.
4) Witness and Connect
Life can become busy and so can our minds. Sometimes we may miss opportunities to witness and connect with people around us – even when they are right in front of us.
Connection is such a critical component to feeling good in life. When we are open to witness the truth and humanness in others around us, our moments are immediately injected with more meaning and joy.
Sometimes it’s simply a matter of removing our needless distractions. Then we can be available to give ourselves the gift of connection.
Idea: If you truly don’t need your phone while you are grocery shopping or out doing errands, leave it in the car or at home. Instead, jot down what you need on a piece of paper (yes a piece of paper) and use that as your reminder. Then you won’t be tempted to check your phone every 5 minutes. Without added distractions, we become more available to make eye contact or have conversation with the other human beings around us. Whether people seem open to connecting or not, see how it feels to notice others and witness them from a place of openness and appreciation. Send people around you a silent wish of goodwill. The more present we are in the moments before us, the more likely we are to witness and take in the gems in our moments.
5) Impromptu Dance Party
There is no need to be a great dancer to bust out your best dance moves – and yes, we all have our own version of what this looks like.
Some of us may lead longer than necessary stretches where we don’t dance at all. Perhaps our lack of dancing might be because we believe we don’t know how to dance. Or maybe we think we should only dance under certain circumstances. We may have restrictions in what our physical bodies can do.
Whatever reasons or stopping places we may have for not dancing with regularity, we can push past them and dance in our own unique way to the best of our physical abilities – if we choose to.
Like most things in life, dancing is a choice. When we let go of our inhibitions in just the right way, we can take ourselves back to the feeling and freedom we once had as children – a time when dancing and playing were just how we transitioned through the day.
Idea: If you want to bust out of your lack of dancing ‘dance rut’, give yourself the gift of impromptu dance parties at home or wherever you feel comfortable busting a move. There is no need to overthink this – in fact, it’s best to let go of thinking all together. I love dancing in the kitchen while I’m cooking or doing dishes. It can be fun to turn up your favorite music and dance around the house or down the street – simply let go of worrying about anything else but enjoying the moment you are in.
Don’t wait to celebrate your life or dance your unique dance. ‘Dance, celebrate, dance’, each and every day you get to wake up and be alive in the world.
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Originally published at emilymadill.com