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

As I make a toast to another New Year, I celebrate the past year and welcome the future with hope and optimism. The key word here is CELEBRATE—my past year’s accomplishments, challenges, and breakthroughs as well as the possibilities awaiting me in the New Year. At times during last year, I was just surviving by putting one foot in front of the other; and at other times, I was thriving by enjoying some positive event in my life. Through it all, I came away with more self-awareness, coping skills, successful accomplishments, new friendships and fond memories.

The birth of a New Year is a time to celebrate what you have endured, what you have accomplished and what continues to be a challenge. It gives you an opportunity to celebrate who you are even though you may have fallen short of some mark. This is a gift you give yourself. Are there things I wish I could have done differently last year? Yes. Are there things I wish I had accomplished? Yes. Are there things I wish never happened? Yes. None of that takes away from feeling enthusiastic about myself and the life I am living right now.

I invite you to celebrate your life for better or worse—let it all be OK. Perhaps you can take it a step further and believe that you are on course and cannot make mistakes. (I know that is a stretch for many.) Let life unfold as you evolve free of the critical judgments. Once you live your life without the good/bad and right/wrong labels, your zest for living will increase, and you will feel good about yourself most of the time.

Here are a few ways to develop a “celebration” mindset:

Acknowledge small successes each day: Create goals for yourself that help you feel successful often. You will attract more success and be motivated to become your best and do your best.

Stay focused on the positive: This is not a denial of the negative but a conscious choice to see beyond it. Notice how you and others are making a positive difference in the world—helping hands, creative inventions, artistic achievements and so much more. (The media does not highlight the positive, so you need to do it for yourself.)

Turn adversity into opportunities: The challenges you face are the building blocks to your becoming more resilient and a creative problem solver. They take you to the “inner gold.” Acknowledge and celebrate each time a challenge is overcome or disappears.

Back yourself even when you get in your own way. Resistance to change, shortcomings, and negative emotions are all part of the journey of life. Accept and embrace all these parts of yourself and keep going with courage and optimism.

Find joy in simple pleasures. Every day give praise for something that you have done well or some situation or person that makes you feel happy. Life is filled with opportunities to experience joy—pets, babies, friends, sunsets, and more.

Celebrate with others. Share in the milestones and accomplishments of your family members, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, clients, heroes and more. Attend celebratory events and participate in meaningful rituals. Even some memorial services are called celebrations of life these days.

When the prodigal son returned home from his journey, his Father had a celebration for him. The son did not have to be perfect; he just lived his life fully. You and I are doing just that each day we open our eyes and greet a new day. As you move through the challenges, disappointments, and losses, you are showing up and deserve to be celebrated. When you accomplish a goal or receive a blessing, give thanks and celebrate. My husband and I celebrate each new business opportunity that comes our way, and at times, just getting through a difficult week.

Life is a celebration when you feel positively connected to yourself and are able to work with life the way it is or change what is within your power to change. Celebrate it all, and you will feel fully ALIVE.

Contact me for a free coaching session to learn how you can create a vision and set the pace for a stellar year.