June: Celebrate
Happy June Everyone! And welcome back to the monthly intention setting journey, this month we focus on CELEBRATE.
You have done a lot of work, and have a lot to be proud of! Often times the focus is on how far we still have to go, but I want you to stand still and look behind you. Congratulate yourself on how far you have come! Don’t measure your worth and success against others, there will always be people “ahead” of us. (There will always be people “behind” us too).
Self care is enhanced when you focus your success on how far you have come. Maybe you have a new job, graduated, started a new relationship, or achieved a long-standing goal. Maybe you got out of bed most mornings and made yourself eat and went to work. Whatever your achievement is, CELEBRATE!
Celebrate Yourself!
I don’t know about you all but the first half of 2023 has been tough! It’s easy to get bogged down in how tough it has been, but I choose to acknowledge the growth. Yay therapy and couples counseling and hard conversations! Yay for the things I thought I couldn’t say, and then I did, and the world didn’t end, it actually got better! Yay for trying new activities and talking to new people and taking naps and being vulnerable and remembering that I am fu!. Yay for self-compassion and play and working on old issues and letting shit go! Yay for facing hard truths and for enjoying simple pleasures (did anyone else get obsessed with Beef or Daisy Jones and the Six?!)
Right now start writing down what you want to celebrate in yourself.
· Start it with “I am proud of myself for…” and “I want to celebrate ___ within me”.
· Reread it.
· Take out any minimizing words like “sort of, tried to, a little bit” etc.
· Add to it.
· Give yourself five minutes to feel good about yourself! (Seriously, set a timer if you have to!) Read your list out loud, play your favorite Get Pumped song, dance, sing, look in the mirror and say “I am proud of you!”
· (You might feel really awkward. Talk about why it is hard for you to celebrate yourself with your therapist, best friend, partner, etc) But that’s a later step, for now just celebrate what a Bad Ass you are!
Celebrate Someone you Love!
Tell someone in your daily orbit how proud you are of them! Could be for something specific, could be totally out of the blue just because they are awesome. But let them know.
Have you ever gotten a message from someone out of the blue saying “hey, just wanted to let you know, you are a great friend and I appreciate you”. Or “being a parent is so hard, and you are doing a great job”. Or “way to ask for a raise at your job, that was tough but you did it!”
If you are like me you have sent a few messages like that in life, and felt anxious and awkward doing it.
Also, if you are like me and have received a few messages like this in life, you felt thrilled and moved and so happy. No weirdness, just gratitude, and it really meant something.
So, tell five people in your life that they are important to you and are amazing!
Celebrate Culture!
Juneteenth is finally a holiday, and Pride month has become a big old party, what?! LOVE THIS! And, if you are going to celebrate, you best:
· know the history behind what you are celebrating. These celebrations stem from societally created violent and discriminatory practices fueled by hate, ignorance, fear and greed. And while some progress gets made, don’t fool yourself into thinking these are past issues because they are very much ongoing.
· be doing something to help support this group year round when you aren’t appropriating their culture to have a good time.
Do some reading, call some politicians, acknowledge rights of our black and queer brethren year round, shop from black and queer owned businesses, talk to your kids (in age appropriate ways) about true history and acknowledge the magnitude of black and queer contributions to our society. (off the top of my head, pretty much any music genre ever!)
Juneteenth!
Pride!
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