Top o’ the morning to ya!

Okay… totally still have my St. Patrick’s Day spirit going- leprechaun boots, green shamrocks, pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and all! 

I want to talk about CELEBRATING with you today- but I don’t want to just talk about the champagne bottles popping and glittery balloons being released.  I also want to talk about the stuff that nobody else talks about, or at least everyone else tries to downplay.  

I want to talk about the STRESS that is associated with celebration… and I want to talk about it so that I can also give you some tools to release and unsubscribe from the heaviness that wears you down so that you can simply HAVE FUN during those celebratory moments.  

Holidays, birthdays, achievements, vacations, ceremonies, special moments, reunions, and other events you look forward to are super duper exciting and USUALLY a blast when you are in them… HOWEVER, if you are anything like me, you spend way longer than you would care to admit worrying about the event, during the time period prior.  

Often times these events come with an air of nostalgia which is great to dig into and feel the memories… but nostalgia can actually also set you up for future fear.

-“Do I have to act/ eat/ behave/ speak the same way I always have, at that event coming up, simply because it’s always how I’ve done it?”

-“I love the food at that event so much but if I eat it this time, it will totally ruin everything for my wellness goals.” (This one results in you ending up pissed off either way, friends… either you eat the food and prove to yourself that you have zero self-control and you have ruined everything OR you don’t and you lament the fact that you “missed out” on things and life is too short, and yada yada yada.)

-“Is so-and-so going to like me? Am I going to say something silly? Is it worth the drive?”

Do any of these questions hit home for you?

They all have for me at one time or another and I’d like to incorporate into my Favorite Five some tools, mantras, and reminders to help you learn how to SIMPLY HAVE FUN… let go of the fear and the pretenses, and enjoy!

So without further ado… Here is my FAVORITE FIVE FOR CELEBRATION

1. Abraham Hicks – Happy Birthday YouTube Recording – I highly recommend you listen to this Abraham Hicks recording TODAY, whether it is your birthday or not.  I listened to it on my birthday last year and the quote  “This is not supposed to be hard work! This is not about effort, it’s about alignment.” has been a GAME CHANGER for me.  I let that quote guide me now every single day… because the fact is, we make everything so damn hard, and it’s not supposed to be! 

2. St. Paddy’s Day with my Family – Our family Saint Patrick’s Day celebration has been a cornerstone of my celebratory life since FOREVER.  My Papa, who is one of my favorite humans, always put on a huge corned beef and cabbage feast for us growing up.  My mum has since taken it over and this is TRULY one of me and my sisters’ favorite family events.  It’s freaking FUN.  We eat, drink, laugh, wear green, and have fun.  

And this is the first year in a LONG time that I didn’t go into it wasting time beforehand worrying.  In the past I spent so much time worrying about how if I have an extra glass of wine or six (haha just kidding… kinda) or an extra cookie it’s going to ruin my fitness goals.  There have literally been years where I have lost sleep over that.  

This year, I decided to simply LOOK FORWARD TO THE DAY.  It’s one day… a special day… a fun day for my family.  And no, it doesn’t have to be all about the food and drink… but that’s just the thing- I didn’t have to spend so much time obsessing about what NOT to do with the food and drink.  This year I decided to BE and to have fun and to focus on the day and the FEELING of being surrounded by my people on the one day that we spend the other 364 days of the year looking forward to! 

Where can you give yourself a little more of this in your life and yearly celebrations?

Check out my IG post from Saturday of our celebration HERE!

3. This SUPER EXCITING, BIG REVEAL, REALLY real podcast where I shared a big reveal and also shared how I caught myself stressing for NO reason (and then what I did to rewire).  Subscribe and listen… and then mark your calendar for October 13th! You’re welcome 😉

4. My Husband – I know, well duh.  But no really… He is one of my favorites and he officially turned the big 4-0 yesterday! And in terms of celebrations… he has taught be so much about honoring myself and celebrating exactly who I am, where I am, what I look like RIGHT NOW… all the time, right now.  As my spouse, he has gotten the divine honor (lol) of watching me melt down, tear myself apart, lament over not being ENOUGH (good, thin, quiet, etc.) for years.  And in each moment he reminds me I’m beautiful and that comparing to the past is useless because it’s gone and I’ve experienced so much more since then… and worrying about the future is useless because, what I worry about may actually never happen and often times I get to be the creator of what is to come.  

Sit with those words and celebrate them.

Happy Birthday, Babe… I love you! 

5. These words: You do not have to be the same person you were 5 minutes ago.  Just because you did something in the past doesn’t mean you will or have to in the future.  Living life based on what you WANT rather than what you SHOULD do is a life where you will constantly celebrating… because getting, living, doing, being what you WANT is FUN… it is everything.  

You are an amazing entity who is WORTHY of celebratION and celebratING! 

I love you so much, sweet friends! 

Throw out the rule book… stop worrying… remember to have FUN!