Whether you celebrate the religious feast, or the culinary feast – or both (like me) – this time of year is dedicated to all things merry and bright. It’s a time for focussing on the joyful, turning our attention to the wonderful and celebrating all that’s good. 

Depending on your spiritual persuasion, the actual reasons for celebration may vary. Perhaps you are honouring the arrival of a Saviour. Or maybe your reveling is a bid to get through the long dark days before the welcome return of Spring. Or perhaps you just enjoy the caroling and carousing and goodwill to all men (like me).  Either way, the shift of our day-to-day perspective towards the fun stuff is not only a joy, it actually has beneficial effects. Positivity, generosity, kindness, forgiveness, charity – all these things are good for our own health and happiness. Whilst the act of celebration has powerful effects on our  psychology – it can influence our future mindset. Celebrating causes us to become primed toward….causes for celebration! In other words, The Good Life. 

The benefits of celebration apply to increased success, too. In success psychology, any celebration of current circumstances is good for future results. The more you celebrate successes, the more successes you will have to celebrate. Ask any successful person what they do after a major achievement – they may be oblivious to how it works, or they may do it intentionally, but chances are they mark it with a significant celebration. When we celebrate a success, we are reinforcing our belief in our own abilities. This boost to our psyche is effective and far-reaching, long after the poppers and party hats have been cleared away. 

 

So, if you would like to experience more joy, better health and improved results in the domestic realm (or indeed in any endeavour) – start celebrating! Look for any successes you may have had over the past year – the end of a year is a great time for reflection. But this is a great habit to establish all year round. It shifts your focus onto the good stuff, making you feel more confident and capable – feelings that naturally lead to increased success. So, consider your past year and look for any signs of improvement, any successes, victories or triumphs, however small – then big ‘em up! Big yourself up, too! Acknowledge that you did good. Celebrate!

Now you may feel, at first glance, that the year passed with little sign of improvement. This is unlikely. Even if all you achieved was another year’s experience of what you don’t want and don’t like, this is still useful. You can use this as information to refine more clearly exactly what you do want. You can use it as motivation for going after what you want to see more of in the year ahead.  Life is a forward motion. With every passing year, we learn and grow – maybe a little, maybe a lot. If may feel like a baby step forward followed by a stumble back, but slow progress is still progress, so celebrate that. You may be pleasantly surprised to find that the more you set your mind to seek the mini triumphs, the more examples it uncovers.  

On the other hand, of course, you may well have had your best year ever! In which case, a round of applause for you! (And what’s your secret?) But whatever sort of year you’ve had, now’s the time to celebrate the best bits. Recap your successes, and mark them with family and  friends, food and drink, fun and laughter, even retail therapy – whatever jingles your particular bell.

This is not pointless (albeit fun) recreation. It’s a powerful anchor for bringing you more of the same. 

So bring on the merry!

Danielle

 

 

 

Photo credit: Ed Saxby