In the midst of the late fall/early winter holiday season, especially in America, it can feel like a special time and a crazy whirlwind altogether. The celebrations come fairly close together, compared to the rest of the year: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas (or Hannukah), New Years…all within 2 months of each other. It’s a season of highs, as people throw themselves into themed costumes, house decorations, special foods, and extra parties and gatherings with family and friends. Many people look forward to these times with excitement, reveling in the thrill of celebration. And it becomes all too easy to designate, even unconsciously, that season as the celebration season. The benefits of celebrating, though, are too important to limit only to a season or special days, like a birthday or anniversary
- an attitude of gratitude: studies conducted at UC Davis concluded that people who practice regular gratitude experienced improved immune systems, increased alertness and energy levels, and stronger social networks
- increased mindfulness: by paying attention to the present moment and looking over what has actually happened, you boost your mental health significantly
- greater resilience: paying attention to more positives makes it easier to bounce back from the negatives, when you just consider the comparisons. Celebrating what you do every day is an easy win
- an endorphin rush: Endorphins are happy-making chemicals that change both your psychology and your physiology
- priming for the positive: the reticular activating system of our brain is a bundle of nerves at the base of the brain that filters out input it deems unnecessary for your current goals. If you pay attention to the positive, your RAS tunes more to that frequency, so you notice more of it happening (like when you buy a particular car model and all of a sudden notice EVERYONE driving it)
When at a seminar recently that was held on a high school campus, I found graffiti in the bathroom. In very small letters underneath the seat protector dispenser, someone had written very neatly “Some days it’s enough to know that you woke up and are breathing.”
I found that note thought-provoking. While on the surface it may seem depressing, there is a simple wisdom within. We are no strangers to celebrating a big accomplishment or a special day, and yet we frequently skip over something that is even more amazing and awe-inspiring, just not to us. The act of walking is extremely complex, considering the number of muscles that are involved and constant adjustments being made all outside of our conscious awareness. Because it is common, something we do all the time, we don’t give it a second thought. A single mother can work a difficult job with an abusive boss and hostile coworkers, and still manage to get up every morning and be on time, even have a smile on her face, because she has a greater why, to provide for her family. A person can have the worst day of their life, go home, go to sleep, and still get up the next day to do what needs to be done. And all of these are achievements worth celebrating, and most never will be unless we set the intention.
What are all the things I am achieving right now that I will start celebrating today instead of taking for granted?
Name: Elizabeth Oing
Website: http://mindset.eoing.com/
Mini-bio: Elizabeth Oing uses principles and techniques from mindfulness, meditation, hypnosis, story-telling, NLP, and other influences to help teens and adults shape their lives by changing personal mindsets. She is located in San Jose, CA and coaches online with people all over the world.