When I started Mentor Masterclass in 2020, celebrating was not at all part of a regular ritual for me. I might sneak in a celebration if something really big came about (with a culturally expected ceremony) — like my graduation from Atlantic Acting School.

On the other hand, the smaller victories got completely overlooked. I deprived myself of a lot of feel good opportunities.

Now I had many “reasons” for bypassing celebration:

1. Perfectionism – I achieved notable progress but didn’t arrive at the high standard that I wanted or expected.
2. Workaholism – I still have a tendency to always have too much on my plate. Back then, I’d neglect the celebration because if I slowed down, I’d surely miss reaching my next milestone.
3. Discomfort with Success – I know this sounds strange but it is easy to become addicted and conditioned to certain emotions and patterns. Because of my unique upbringing and makeup, it is far easier for me to feel disappointed and sad (as a result of what I still hadn’t achieved) that to acknowledge what I had and give over to joy.

Do any of these joy blockers sound familar?

I now do my best to make celebration part of my regular planning process and you should too.

You deserve to experience joy right now and you have accomplished more than enough to start celebrating in this moment!!

How to Celebrate (Fully)

The practice of Celebration doesn’t need to be extravagant, expensive or time consuming, but it should be special!!

1. Start by asking yourself what you have done, accomplished, or a way that you showed up today, this week, or this month that is worthy of celebration.
   HINT: This is nothing too small to celebrate. I particularly like to celebrate actions that were new to me, challenging, or required me to assert my individuality.
2. Now, ask yourself why you are celebrating this particular action or accomplishment. Be as specific as possible.
3. Finally, do something to help you feel celebratory in your entire being (physically and emotionally). Preferably, this action is something that feels a bit different to what you would do as an every day experience.

Here are a few of my favorite celebratory actions:

• Put on a favorite song and do a wild, fun and/or interpretive dance
• Sing at the top of my lungs (often while dancing)
• Make a special meal or drink and have a toast or verbal acknowledgement of what I’m celebrating while I eat.
• Call someone I love and share what I’m celebrating and why.

What are you celebrating? How are you celebrating it?

I’d love to hear in the comments below.

Have a beautiful weekend!

Natalie