A Celebratory Happy Dance

I spent much of the first weekend of the year reviewing 2021 and setting intentions for 2022.

Just like our minds are wired to pay attention to fear and pain, we seem to be wired to pay attention to what we have not done, what we have not accomplished, or what we want & don't have yet.

To be honest with you...

At a glance, I was feeling like I moved slowly on things that I wanted for myself in 2021. (I'm not immune to that critical voice in my head either.) I felt like I was not where I wanted to be at the beginning of this year in a handful of ways....at first.
 

But here's what I did...

I read the intentions I set at the beginning of last year.
I reviewed my planner from 2021 and glanced at my weeks & months.
I skimmed through some of my journals from the last year.
I looked at pictures I took this last year.
I checked in with how I really felt about where I'm at in a number of ways.
I did some writing around all of it. 

When I completed this process, I felt really really good about this last year, and where I am right now.
I felt proud. I celebrated.

What a shift!

While I did not do or complete some things that I had intended last year, I did follow through with many things that I did set intentions around.

In my review, I was able to see where life circumstances came up that demanded my attention & when I had to focus on what was most important at the time, rather than what I had planned.

I acknowledged the deep inner personal work that I did this last year that's not so easily measurable, but so very important - and honestly took a lot of energy.

I compared the days of my life a year ago to today and realized I'd really made some amazing changes for myself.

I'd solidly shifted some major mindsets that affected how I feel daily.

I'd solidified some daily habits & routines that are supporting me in numerous ways.

I saw how many little trips I took last year & how much time I spent in nature & deeply celebrated that.

I witnessed how much heart I put into my business & the clients that I serve. 

I'd hit some goals I'd set for myself & made progress on others. 

When I celebrate like this, my inner voice sounds like "Hell yeah Shelly! Look at you now!" and I'm truly able to celebrate myself, what I've done & how far I've come. And most importantly, recognize how much better I feel in the moments of my days because of these things.

I think that's ultimately what we all want right? To feel good in the moments of our days that make up our life?

This is why we do the personal growth work that we do.
It's why we make changes for our health & wellbeing.
It's why we work towards dreams & goals.

It's not because I feel like I need to change to be a more worthy human - it's because I want to have the best feeling life possible, and I know that I'm in charge of creating that.

The habit of celebrating is something that I have been working on developing for myself over the years, and it's something that I'm consistently encouraging my clients to do with me in sessions. It's SO important.

If you adopt a habit of celebrating, you are effectively taking control of that critical & pessimistic part of your mind and taking the time to acknowledge yourself instead.

Recognize yourself for all the goodness that you are putting effort towards and take time to acknowledge the positive effects of the areas of your life that you are putting energy into. 

Here's what developing a habit of celebrating can look like:

Daily - As you lay in bed at night before you fall asleep, take some time to review your day in your mind & think about what you accomplished (know that an 'accomplishment' can mean that you gave yourself some much-needed rest time. It's not all about productivity). Think about the ways that you handled yourself that you are proud of. Think about the energy you put into the things that are important to you. Think about the ways that you took good care of yourself. Think about how you showed up in your day. This can be a powerful nighttime journaling practice as well if you like to write.

Weekly - At the end of each week, I review my planner which includes all of my  schedule, my to-do lists for the week, as well as rest days, fun plans, etc (everything is in my planner!) I take time to cross everything off the lists that I have done and acknowledge myself. I look at the balance I held with my schedule - I note that I also took time to rest, meditate, & exercise, connect with friends, etc - and I celebrate. Even when I did not complete everything on 'the lists' for the week (which is honestly usually the case) I feel good about my week when I do this practice.

Monthly - Again, review my planner & look at what I've done. I take a little time to read through my journal & look at pictures of my month. I do some end-of-the-month writing around all of it. 

Yearly - I already told you about my yearly review. There are so many ways you can do this. 

It takes some intention, but the habit of acknowledging yourself & celebrating is powerful.

Also, celebrate the good feelings that doing these things has brought you.

We can be driven by pressure to do more, but personally, I'm tired of that game. I think that the 'do more' part of our culture is ready to die off....I think it's time to start celebrating what we have done, how that makes us feel, & allow that to drive us.

For me personally, allowing that to motivate me is so much more effective.

The pressure to 'do more' that our society tends to push and the message that it directly affects our value & worth as human beings can F right off. That does not drive me. It's made me feel less than, stressed out, or like I'm not enough. (Can you relate? Yeah, I thought so.)

The celebrations of what I'm doing with my days & how it makes me feel really drives me - it makes me feel good - and it keeps me wanting to do more & more good in my life and take better & better care of myself, even when it's not easy. I want that for you too. 

I encourage you to develop a habit of celebrating in your life.

Celebrate your wins.
Celebrate your progress.
Celebrate your accomplishments.
Celebrate what you share & give to the world
Celebrate taking care of yourself.
Celebrate the joy that you have in your life.
Celebrate yourself for the things you have done to create that joy.
Celebrate the personal growth that has happened for you through the hard stuff.
Celebrate the internal shifts that you work so hard to make. 
Celebrate the changes you have made that make you feel good. 

If you haven't already taken some time to celebrate 2021, please do that for yourself. Look for the goodness that has come from your year - The goodness that you have created for yourself. 

I'm celebrating with you!
(happy dance! 💃🏼)

Shelly