Today I’m taking a slight detour from my {31 Days to} Build Your Own Creative Business series to join The Declaration of You’s Blog Lovin’ Tour. Learn more about it (and how to join it!) at the end of this post. Here, I answer their questions about this week’s focus, celebration.
How do you celebrate your successes, both big and small?
First of all, I stopped celebrating big successes. I found that huge moments of breakthrough and elation only happen every so often, and in celebrating them, it creates peaks that turn into pitfalls. Last year, I had a few success “hangovers”-these little lulls of depression that followed moments I thought might constitute my “big break.”
What I’ve learned through building my own creative business is that a great and abundant life is composed of a lot of small wins. It’s quite easy to dream of a “big break,” but it’s another thing entirely to employ self-discipline and do a lot of work you don’t necessarily have to do in order to build your own good name. I celebrate that I show up to that every day. I actively try to create regularly scheduled small wins. Therefore, I celebrate regularly in small ways.
And my celebrations are seasonal because I love and appreciate all four seasons. Right now I’m celebrating with the summer. After a stretch of productive work, I’ll crack open an ice-cold beer on the porch or take a dip in the pool. In the fall, I’ll break up the day by going for a walk, or I’ll make homemade applesauce in the slow cooker to cozy up the house. For me, there’s great reward in adding a special holiday-feel and infusing celebratory rituals into everyday life.
Do you feel the celebrations are an important part of enjoying life?
Absolutely. It’s during celebration that you look around in gratitude at all the blessings that surround you. It’s essential to enjoying the journey, without constantly worrying about what’s next. When you’re working hard, it’s usually hustled and hurried. There’s nothing to savor … you keep your head down, put your nose to the grindstone, and get shit done. The celebration is the reward: the runner’s high, the glass of wine, the summer’s warmth, the winter’s coziness, the cup of coffee, the yoga cool-down, the getaway, the paycheck, and the dinner out.
Describe your most favorite celebratory experience.
The best celebrations of my life have come at the most unexpected moments, and they’re always quite simple: holding my child for the very first time, waking up next to the warmth of my husband after a stretch apart, a homecoming with friends and family, etc. It’s when a story comes together: a new chapter begins or an old one ends.
What’s your personal declaration around celebration?
Celebration breeds more to celebrate. I’ve just come home from a tour overseas, and everyday I wake up and celebrate the United States. I celebrate things like 110 electricity and all the beautiful appliances that are made for my kitchen and bathrooms. I celebrate Taco Bell and Target. I celebrate being in the same time zone as most of my family and friends! I celebrate the grocery stores! I mean, American supermarkets are absolutely glorious! I celebrate this beautiful, free country we live in at least twenty times a day – easy.
Celebration is the simple matter of recognizing all of the good things around you. They’re everywhere!
The Declaration of You will be published by North Light Craft Books this summer, with readers getting all the permission they’ve craved to step passionately into their lives, discover how they and their gifts are unique and uncover what they are meant to do! This post is part of The Declaration of You’s BlogLovin’ Tour, which I’m thrilled to participate in alongside over 100 other creative bloggers. Learn more — and join us! – by clicking here.
