Work hard, play hard.

Get something done? Celebrate it.

Hooray! I meditated for 5 minutes straight!

Yabadabadoo! I finished the first thing on my to-do list

YESS! I did 10 pushups. Oh yeah… I worked out!

Cheer yourself like a freak! Celebrate like you just got an extra day off. Compliment yourself for accomplishing something small or big. Clap yourself on the back and say “Well done, Jonas [your name ;-)]”. Then smile and enjoy the good feeling.

Yes, I’m being serious now.

I’m not talking about throwing a party just because you finished your article, went to the gym, or answered all emails. I’m not talking about clinking Champagne glasses just because you finished reading that book, prepared a healthy meal, or went through your morning routine. — I’m talking about acknowledging what you’ve done in a celebratory manner:

Clench your fist like tennis players do when they play a lovely ball

Raise your arms in the air like you scored a goal in soccer

Jump around as if you got an A+ in your final exam

Make the sound of a champion: “Oh yess!”, “Come on!”, “Woohoo!”

Image Credits to Firemime475

WHY?

Praise good performance, and the good performance will repeat. — Lanny Bassham

In a world of long to-do lists, hard work, and little acknowledgement from others, we seldom get praise for what we do. This can leave us demotivated mixed with feelings of low-accomplishment & unworthiness. And who wants that, right?

So, praise & celebrate yourself → it has tons of benefits:

It motivates you to take more action

It acknowledges that you’re an action taker

It makes you feel better (release of happy chemicals)

It builds momentum and confidence (success mindset)

It makes you more likely to repeat the action

— — > celebrate yourself for every little something you’ve accomplished. Even if it isn’t perfect (it never is…), even if it seems so small, and even if there are twenty more things that need to get done.

Focus on the process, baby.

Clench that fist, “Yes!” — (Come on, clench that fist and say ‘YES’ out loud, it feels great.)

Awesome job!

And hey, don’t listen to those who grumble “self-praise stinks”… You know better, self-praise smells like red roses in a summer breeze that make you smile and feel good.

(By the way, that whole idea of ‘celebrating yourself’ is a modified form of what is called Positive Reinforcement. And it works very well with dogs, too.)

3 Actionable Ideas

Celebrating yourself is really cool and has many benefits. But we just forget about it as soon as we dive into the busyness of life. So, how can we integrate it into everyday life? How can we make it a habit?

There are uncountable possibilities how you can integrate ‘celebrating yourself’ into your life. Let’s look at 3 right now:

Remind yourself to celebrate by sticking post-it notes to places where you see them regularly, or by wearing a celebrate bracelet (any bracelet/rubber band will do as long as it reminds you to celebrate), or by writing it down directly on your to-do list. Integrate it into your morning routine. Personally, I start my day in a celebratory manner. I do pushups and then celebrate. I meditate and then celebrate. I say my affirmations and then celebrate. I WOOP a goal and then celebrate. Etc… Is there something you do everyday? Do you brush your teeth in the morning? → Celebrate that! Do you eat a healthy breakfast? → Celebrate that! Did you get up on time? → Celebrate that! Make an accomplishment list. This is more complex but carries even more benefits with it. Write down all the actions you’re taking (see image below). For example, if I meditate for 10 minutes, I’ll write it down immediately after I’m done. Or, when I work for 60 minutes, I’ll write that down immediately after finishing. So, when you write down those things, you must remind yourself to celebrate. “Yes, well done, Jonas, you meditated for 10 minutes. Awesome!” That’s all the magic.

Example Accomplishment List with the reminder to celebrate.

Okay, there you have it — 3 actionable ideas to include ‘celebrating yourself’ into everyday life. Celebrating yourself just takes 20 seconds but is immensely powerful, so make sure you integrate that somehow into your life.

Before I let you go, let’s read that last quote and celebrate it Homer-style. WOOHOO!