The Simple Act That Will Bring More Joy and Fulfillment to Your Life

It can seem silly sometimes to make a big deal out of things, but it's incredibly important to do so. Whether it's your anniversary, birthday, the day you finally paid off your student loans or any other accomplishment of any level, you have to celebrate!
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

Life is as special and meaningful as we choose to make it. As humans, we apply a great deal of meaning (or none at all) to different things in our lives. Oftentimes, we give more meaning than is probably necessary to many things. Things like sports games, television shows, fashion dos and don'ts, etc. But we don't always seem to take that time and energy and apply meaning to things that give our life more value.

If we don't make the time to celebrate the moments in our lives, it will feel less meaningful and special. In turn, we feel less joy and fulfillment.

Back when I still lived in Hawaii, my amazing man had his last day of work at a job he couldn't stand. Additionally, he was just diving into starting his own business. This was a big day for him for many reasons, one that could've easily passed by like any other. Instead, we got all dolled up, I took him out to a nice restaurant with some food he'd enjoy, and we celebrated this important moment in his life.

As we were being taken to our seats, the host asked if it was a special occasion... "Yes!" I responded immediately, "He's starting his business today! Do you have a cake for that?" He laughed and told us he'd let our waiter know it was our "anniversary" so we could have a special celebratory treat. It was an awesome night.

It can seem silly sometimes to make a big deal out of things, but it's incredibly important to do so. Whether it's your anniversary, birthday, the day you finally paid off your student loans or any other accomplishment of any level, you have to celebrate! You have to make space to appreciate what you've accomplished, no matter how big or small it is. You may laugh at the person who celebrates half birthdays or sends a card for every occasion, but I guarantee their life is filled with more laughter, joy and fulfillment than yours. Because they choose to make it that way.

2013-11-05-ImportanceOfCelebration.jpg

So, how do you celebrate the wins in your life?

1) Decide what's important to you and those you love.

Not everyone cares about half birthdays or feels the need to celebrate quitting a job... but what's important to you? What feels like a major accomplishment in your life? Even if that's paying an invoice that's been nagging you for months, living in new place for a year (hello anniversaries!) or that you haven't smoked a cigarette in a whole week, the only thing that matters is that it's important to you or the people you love.

If you're not sure what's important to you, just start celebrating! Start with a great day at work where your bosses were happy with something you did, a week of healthy eating, getting your first client or project, an anniversary (big or small), or anything in between.

2) Understand why it's important to celebrate.

If we don't apply meaning to the things that are important to us, or celebrate all our wins and accomplishments, we'll start to wonder what's the point of achieving them. Sure, you haven't smoked in a week and that takes you one week closer to healthy living, but if no one seems to care whether you are or aren't smoking... if no one, especially you, seems to care that you've achieved the previously unachievable, then what's the point in trying?

Celebrating our wins helps us to stay on track and feel awesome about what we're doing. In the case of achieving a goal, like losing weight or quitting smoking, it helps give us a reason to keep going by having milestones to reach, and in turn, celebrate!

3) Start celebrating with those you love.

In addition to celebrating our own wins, celebrating others will help you deepen your love, connection and relationship. It shows the other person that you truly care about what's going on in their lives, your anniversaries, or special moments. You can write a simple love note on a card or take them out to their favorite restaurant. When you give more meaning to others, you bring more meaning into your world. You inspire others to do the same and suddenly you're surrounded by special, meaningful moments!

4) Know there's no "right way" to celebrate.

This is about creating more meaning in the moments that matter. This isn't about dropping loads of money or doing something because you think you should. Celebrating may be as simple as a sweet treat after dinner, sending a love note in the mail, giving yourself a gold star on your goals tracker, or putting on a little lipstick and dancing around your house! There doesn't have to be a material reward or an expensive evening out, those are just two ways to celebrate. Choose something that feels special to you and isn't just another day or evening.

Take action now!

What's something you can celebrate this week? What have you accomplished, big or small, and what feels good to you as a way to make the experience more special and meaningful? Who in your life deserves a little celebrating and how can you (within your time and budget) help bring more meaning to this moment in their lives?

Share a win with me below so we can celebrate together!

Stephenie Zamora is the founder of www.stepheniezamora.com;, a full-service, life-purpose development, design and branding boutique. Here she merges the worlds of personal development and branding to help young women build passion-based businesses. Click here to download her free guide, "The Unexpected Trick to Transforming Your Life With ONE Single Question."

Connect with Stephenie on Facebook and Twitter!

For more by Stephenie Zamora, click here.

Popular in the Community

Close

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN LIFE