Celebrate yourself
I've always had a hard time to celebrate myself. Even as a little girl the idea of having a party dedicated to my birthday made me feel uncomfortable . I didn't like feeling at the center of attention and the organization of the party actually made me anxious and stressed.
Only recently I realized that the worry was coming from my people pleasing attitude. Since I was feeling responsible for the happiness of all the people in the party, the idea of having to please so many people at the same time made me feel overwhelmed and it wasn't fun anymore.
So every year when my birthday was getting closer the stress and feeling of responsibility got the best out of it, and I would end up not celebrating at all or playing small with a little discreet celebration .
On the other side I loved celebrating other people's birthdays and achievements, and buying presents for them, but the truth is that deep inside I wasn't feeling worthy of it.
Only during the last few years I realized that life passes by too quickly and that problems to solve will always be there for us, so it is vital to stop and celebrate our wins, and we TOTALLY deserve it !
Few days ago it was my birthday ( I turned 26! Yay! ) and you have to know that the 15th of August is national day in Italy, which means that most people leave for holidays somewhere exotic and little people stay in the city. But this year I really wanted to celebrate with people I cared about and not on some beach resort somewhere, so I did a nice birthday party with my closest friends and it felt so good, intimate but very authentic, and I gave myself the authorization to relax, and just have fun and enjoy myself! And it worked perfectly :-)
But I'm not only talking about big events, like a wedding, a birthday, or getting your university diploma, I'm talking about celebrating the little everyday wins, like making peace with a family member, ending a long day at work, meeting up an old friend or a new one, I would say find an excuse to celebrate yourself as often as possible!
Do you lack ideas on how to celebrate yourself?
You don't have to trow a huge party everyday ( even if go for it if you feel like!!) , just do something that lights you up:
- Buy yourself fresh flowers once every week!
- Take a relaxing bath
- Share a glass of wine and a fun conversation with a friend
- Dress up nicely and put some make up on
- Do not rush and take time to get ready in the morning, make it sweet !
- Light up a candle and listen to music
- Go dancing, cycling , just move your body as it feels good
- Get yourself out for a date ( walk in a nice area, get an ice cream or a sweet treat, go to the movies..)
- Cook a fancy meal
- Get cosy and read a book
- And all the little things that you always want to do but postpone every time!!
So please share in the comments below how you celebrate yourself in big or small occasions and weather is comes naturally for you or not , like it was in my case. And I'd love to hear other fun ways to celebrate different occasions , so I can try them on
And last but not least, remember that celebrating the wins of others is as important as celebrating yours , because as usual the more love, joy and happiness you give out the richer you feel within
Alessia xx