Happy Friday!

Do you love yourself a good celebration?!?

I know I do!

And being on the heels of Canada 🇨🇦 Day, and on the eve of the 4th of July, it got me thinking about celebration.

I’m all about the excitement and the cheers and the pomp and circumstance… I’m that girl who brings balloons for every birthday no matter what age, always has sparklers at the ready, and literally a party and celebration storage box with crowns and noise makers and confetti to boot. You just never know when you’re going to need them!

While important days like our countries’ or our friends’ birthdays, or other exciting events like weddings and anniversaries are ripe for proper celebration, you don’t always need a special occasion in order to find a reason to celebrate.

In fact, if you wait only for said special day for a celebration, you’re going to be missing out on a whole lotta moments worth celebrating!

In my book (which I embarrassingly started writing YEARS ago! And one of these days will come out… mark my words!) one of the chapters is titled “It’s Tuesday! Time to break out the China!” And it’s all about the need to find moments and reasons to celebrate as much and as often as possible. 

I see it all the time – with women especially – accomplishing big things, reaching their goals, getting their brave on a BIG way… and as soon as they do, they’re already looking ahead to the next thing!

Umm… hold on! You gotta take at least a moment or two to acknowledge how far you’ve come, recognize your progress, and celebrate your wins! 

And every small step counts. 

All too often we’re looking ahead to where we want to go next – what next milestone we want to hit, what next goal we want to crush, what next mountain we want to climb.

And, because we will never get ‘there’ (there will always be another milestone, goal, or mountain…) you really do need to take some time to acknowledge where you are right here, right now. 

When was the last time you took the time to properly celebrate 🎉 something you’ve achieved, or a special moment in time? 

One of the things I have the highly ambitious females I work with do, is to write out a celebrations list. 

I have them sit in their fave coffee shop or cozy chair, beverage of choice in hand, and relaxing or inspiring music in the background (I often recommend epic soundtrack music… it really helps set the tone!) And ask them to set a timer for 15 minutes. Fifteen minutes to write out all you have accomplished, achieved, experienced. And I bet you’d be pretty darn impressed with yourself!

Just like bravery and love and laughter, celebration is contagious.

“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” ~ Oprah 

We’re in a bit of a weird time. And we may not be able to celebrate in the way we’re used to. 

Canada Day this year just wasn’t quite the same. (I’m ashamed to say I didn’t even wear my special red maple leaf t-shirt, which I keep especially for this day!) But I still took a moment to celebrate and reflect on how grateful I am to be Canadian. I had a picnic in one of the beautiful parks we have in the city. And I watched the CN Tower light show, and managed to catch some unexpected and very much appreciated fireworks from my balcony. 

And, you don’t need fireworks to celebrate!

So, I have two small challenges for you this week. 

1. Find something in your life, TODAY, to celebrate. 
2. Choose how you are going to celebrate! Are you going to take a moment on your own, take a bubble bath, reflect in your journal, pop some bubbly, listen to your favourite song, order a double scoop of ice cream, eat some rich chocolate, sleep in?

Take a moment to acknowledge where you are, how far you’ve come, and all that lies ahead. Take a moment to truly celebrate this moment.

I DARE you.

Have a FAB week!