Hello Gold Star Squad!
Sometimes we think that the only things worthy of celebration in our lives are the big things – the new house, the promotion, a new baby, etc.
But celebrating the little things, your tiny day-to-day victories, can be just as powerful!
In fact, celebrating the little things on a regular basis will cause you to appreciate life more, and might even change your life completely!
If we start to recognize that the small actions we take DO matter, we start appreciating them and taking satisfaction in them. That will make us want to take even more of those of actions, and momentum will build.
Appreciating our tiny wins will even start to change our perspective, and we will begin to see opportunities for positive change and success that we wouldn't have been able to notice before.
In a recent post I talked about trying to appreciate your past achievements and accomplishments at times when you are feeling judgmental and critical of yourself. The practice I am discussing today is a complimentary process. It is more about appreciating the little things that go well in the present -- as they are happening, if possible, or at least sometime later that same day or week.
I recommend starting with accomplishments or wins that are as small as you can think of. You can celebrate smiling at a stranger when you are out on a walk, or you can celebrate the fact that you stopped your car to let someone cross the street. Even an action that is this tiny can have an impact on others. Maybe the person that you stopped your car for will now have more patience if someone treats them rudely later in the day. You never know exactly how the effects of your good deeds will ripple out into the world!
You might also celebrate finding a great parking space, or receiving an unexpected text from a friend, or coming up with a tasty dinner idea. Nothing is too small to be celebrated!
A great way to wire these new positive habits into your brain is to write down your accomplishments, victories, miracles, and wins! Or, you might choose to stand in a "power pose," like the one in the cover photo for this post, as you celebrate your successes!
In January, I joined a program called the Year of Miracles. At the beginning, all of the participants were given a Miracles Journal to record the miracles that we will experience throughout the year. The journal is broken down into weekly sections, and each week contains a place to record your daily wins and miracles!
I have been using this journal for a couple of weeks now, and it is making a positive difference in my life! I keep it open in a tab on my laptop, and when the smallest good thing happens, I click over to the journal to record it. I think it's going to be pretty awesome to be able to look back on this at the end of the year and see all of the wonderful things that I appreciated about my life!
How about you, dear readers? Do you think that you could start a practice of celebrating the little things? What do you think would help you make that practice consistent? I would love to hear about it in the comments, or over in the new Gold Star Revolution Facebook group!