When did you last celebrate? Yes, celebrate, that unnecessary act that costs too much, yet provides a reward to yourself for whatever achievement brought you happiness. I guess that you don’t do it. And I am no better; in our society, we have the belief that celebrating is an act that should be reserved only for significant events, such as marriage, the birth of a child, or receiving a significant promotion or increase in salary.

Notice how short that list is, above. Yes, they’re all deserving of a celebration, but such events happen rarely in life and sometimes not at all. Consider, though, the many opportunities that go unnoticed, such as getting a B+ on a spelling test, finally passing your driving exam, getting that lawn mower running after fussing with it for an hour, fitting into those special pants after dieting for a month, and more.

Unimportant? Not worth celebrating? Of course, they are. Our challenge is that we identify celebrations with large expenses. True, buying a new car to celebrate getting a big job promotion may fit, as would going to a fancy restaurant to celebrate a wedding anniversary. But we needn’t make large expenditures a requirement for celebrations. Instead, we would serve ourselves better by celebrating on a scale. For example, celebrating that you passed that driving exam might be achieved by stopping for a burger and coke on the way home. Celebrating that you fixed the lawn mower may be a twenty-minute break before your next task. It is not the extensiveness of the event, it is that, in celebrating, we can enjoy the moment instead of letting the event die.

Now, once you begin to accept celebrations as part of your life, consider expanding the opportunities. One of my favorites is to reflect each morning that I have received another day on this earth to enjoy the ones I love. Pausing your life for just that one minute puts a brightness on your morning that otherwise wouldn’t be there.

Another favorite celebration of mine is pausing on a given day each week for a few minutes to reflect on the good things in my life. Yes, there are also the bad, but the bad are always on our minds. So, maybe you didn’t get the job you wanted. So, possibly your doctor told you that you need an operation soon. Celebrate that your life can continue without that special job. Celebrate that you have a doctor who is working with you on your health. Celebrating is focusing on what we do have, not what we do not. There will always be those who have less than we have, and wishing for more serves us little.

No, I am not a pollyanna who pretends life is good when it isn’t. Reality is always with us, but it is our attitude that dictates how we face the reality. There is goodness in every day if we but look.