“I think female self-celebration is the cure for the patriarchy.”
-Kasia Urbaniak, Unbound: A Woman’s Guide to Power
Our world is becoming increasingly about the hustle, the movement forward, the push, the grind. We’re all like Luisa from Disney’s Encanto…
“Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that’ll never stop…. Under the surface, I’m pretty sure I’m worthless if I can’t be of service.”
What if you decided to turn that back? What would a conscious effort to fight the ever mounting pressure of today’s world look like?
It looks like self-celebration.
Ask yourself, when was the last time you stopped to celebrate yourself for your accomplishments, big or small? It’s time we started to do it more, and we need to start NOW!
What is self-celebration?
So what is the definition of self-celebration?
Self-celebration is the conscious acknowledgement of your accomplishments, large or small. It’s a profound acceptance of where you are in the present moment and how far the journey has brought you. Celebrating yourself means giving yourself the gift of self-love as well as cheering yourself on.
It’s not bragging, or being self-absorbed, or an excuse for narcissism. (These things are unhealthy and often coping mechanisms.)
Self-celebration is meeting ourselves where we are and choosing to lift up our own successes in a healthy manner.
And here’s the great thing about self-celebration—when you do it, you’re inspiring and lifting up others as well!
The Benefits of Self-Celebration
In Kasia Urbaniak’s book, Unbound: A Woman’s Guide to Power, she talks about how celebrating yourself can dispell shame and help you learn to trust yourself.
It’s natural for women to attack ourselves… to give entire spiels apologizing for the state of our business proposal before we even present it. We are constantly striving for perfection, and we feel like failures every time we (inevitably) don’t reach it.
Self-celebration allows us to heal from the belief that we are not enough and see ourselves as creative and powerful humans who are worth every single accomplishment we have reached in our lives!
The bonus is that when we use our exclamation of “I’m AWESOME!” to connect with others, they want in on the excitement too!
Those who are truly our friends, who want to see us really WIN in big ways are going to be cheering us on every step of the way. And how can they do that, unless you let them know that you’ve accomplished something?
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What Do You Need for Self-Celebration?
There’s not much we need to practice self-celebration. Anyone can practice self-celebration!
1) Self Love
Self-love and self-celebration go hand in hand. All those “self-” words, like self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-compassion also go along with this.
You’re celebrating the fact that you are worth it, you are enough, and you’ve done something you’re proud of.
2) Mindfulness in Your Daily Life
Awareness is the root of all growth and change.
You need to be aware of when you’re pushing yourself too hard and when you feel exhausted. You also should be aware and mindful of when you are totally KILLING IT!
Because when we follow our body’s cues, we can rest when we need it so we don’t completely burn out. But we can also honor our accomplishments when we reach them and learn to pause to celebrate.
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3) Courage
Let’s be honest… celebrating ourselves doesn’t always feel very natural. We’re taught to be modest and keep ourselves small.
So we have to get over the fact that we’re putting ourselves out there. Because someone might call us egotistical or self-indulged. But with true self-celebration, that’s never the case.
Put aside your fears of what other judgmental people will think and instead consider all the good you’re doing by modeling celebrating yourself to others who might still be too afraid.
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7 Ways to Practice Self-Celebration
1. Journal about your accomplishments
The first thing you can do when you’ve reached a milestone or accomplished something is to write it down! Write down how you feel and what you want to do to celebrate.
And while I don’t want to tell you what to, I want to stress that now is NOT the time to try to figure out what you want to do next. Allow yourself to sink into your feelings of pride and bliss and relief!
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2. Bend the rules
Celebration means special circumstances. If you’re the type of person who is very disciplined, now is the time to bend those rules you set for yourself.
Usually super healthy? Eat that dessert.
Usually super put together? Lounge around in your PJs!
Usually work hard all day? Binge-watch something on Netflix!
Celebrating yourself means letting go of that discipline that got you there. Don’t worry, you’ll pick right back up where you left off after the celebration has worn off.
3. Post on Social Media
Think giving yourself a shout out on Facebook or IG is arrogant?
It’s not, especially if you’re the type of person to send love to everyone else or use social media to share goofy memes.
Use this moment to post. Your closest friends will join in and sing your praises, and all your acquaintances will just enjoy seeing what you have going on in your life!
Just like everyone’s struggles are valid, it’s totally okay to be happy for where you are in your journey, even if someone else is “ahead”.
Let everyone know how happy you are!
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4. Give yourself some special self-care
While you’re shouting your praises and breaking your discipline, be sure to give yourself some much deserved self-care.
While self care encompasses so much in your life, bubble baths and a glass of wine are totally valid for special occasions! Find a way to relax, whatever your self-care style is. Maybe go out to see a movie, treat yourself to a massage, or get ice cream with some friends.
5. Share with your Women’s Circle
Women’s circles aren’t only great for supporting each other in our struggles, but they’re also great for lifting each other (and ourselves) up!
I just started a women’s circle, and one of our first tasks was to share things that we were proud of this past year. The women rose to the occasion and shared all kinds of amazing accomplishments!
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6. STOP!
Here’s an important one!
Don’t forget to pause. When you accomplish something, no matter how hard you worked for it, don’t forget to take a moment to appreciate it.
Don’t start planning the next project! Don’t plow ahead to your next big thing!
Self-celebration doesn’t work if you aren’t in the moment to enjoy it. So be present for the manifestation of all your hard work! Enjoy it!
7. Go out to dinner with your favorite people
Like #5 above, sharing your big (or small) moment with the people you love is a wonderful way to commemorate your success!
While your acquaintances love to view your accomplishments from afar, your closest friends and family want to be there up close! They want to share their pride with you too!
A fancy dinner is a nice way to make some memories around these accomplishments with your favorite people. So pick your favorite restaurant and invite away!
8. Buy something nice for yourself!
Not that we ever need an excuse to buy nice things, but this is one of those occasions that we can make a purchase for ourselves.
Maybe some fine jewelry. Perhaps redecorating your office.
Personally, I’d really love some linen clothes or perhaps a cashmere sweater.
Get something that whenever you wear or use it, you’ll be reminded of how far you’ve come in life!
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9. Give yourself a vacation or a break
When I finished NaNoWriMo in November of 2021, I took the entire month of December to sleep in, enjoy the holidays, and heal after an incredibly trying year.
The entire month.
I had written over 50,000 words in the month of November and I need a break. So I didn’t write another word until after Christmas was over.
So if you’re waiting for a good moment to use up your vacation days, now is a great time!
10. Throw Yourself a Party (Yes, Really!)
It seems like once you’ve gone through graduation from high school and college and gotten married, there are never any good parties any more.
And while it might be tacky to expect gifts from your guests if it’s a party you’re throwing yourself, you can go all out. Have it catered! Get party favors. Break out the champagne!
We should all have parties more to celebrate the good things in life with the good people in life.
Conclusion
However you choose to celebrate yourself, they’re all valid!
And while it’s important to celebrate your successes and accomplishments, it’s also valid to practice self-celebration at any time.
Because we’re all only human, and as far as we know, we only get one life. Don’t spend it working yourself to the ground and never stopping to dance.
So enjoy yourself and celebrate however you like!
What’s your favorite way to practice self-celebration?
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