6 Pillars: Celebrate the wonder of you
Introducing the 6 pillars series, where we’ll explore the 6 pillars of mental wellbeing. Here’s how to celebrate YOU.
Celebrate is about tuning in to what matters most, and recognising what’s great about you and the world around you. It’s about understanding what your personal values are and feeling empowered to live in accordance with them.
Part of that process is finding gratitude for the good that is already in our lives and, most importantly, showing kindness and acceptance towards ourselves.
When we can connect with our core values, and practice gratitude and self-compassion we can move towards a deeper sense of happiness and life satisfaction.
Through the habits that are part of the Celebrate pillar we can find ourselves better able to cope with challenges and more able to find the positives in life.
Here are some of the ways that you can begin to celebrate your world, your beliefs and the wonderful person that is you.
Get out the albums
Reflecting on the good times can have a positive effect on our wellbeing. Why not get out the photo albums and revel in some of those happy memories. This could also be a chance to think about what was important to you then and now, take a moment to notice how far you’ve come.
Feel thankful
Before you fall asleep each night, think of three things big or small that you’re grateful for. We live in a world where the emphasis is often on having more but focusing our minds on what is already here and what we already have can change our perspective. Practising gratitude on a regular basis has been shown to reduce excessive worrying and levels of depression over time.
Practising gratitude at night can also help you sleep!
Be proud
While you’re at, why not also list the things you’re proud of yourself for achieving in your day. Again it doesn’t have to be major milestones. It could be as simple as I felt annoyed about something but I didn’t lash out, I crossed something off my to-do list, I showed kindness or gave encouragement to someone else. Remember, we all have strengths but we have our weaknesses too. Understanding and accepting both is part of self-compassion.
Set your goals
Giving ourselves small achievable tasks in our day or week and then crossing them off the list can bring powerful feelings of purpose and satisfaction. It’s another way to recognise our own strengths as we see clearly what we’ve accomplished with our time. Making them short-term goals that deliver quick results can lead to feeling more motivated and give you a stronger sense of self-efficacy.
Goal setting can also help rewire your brain for resilience.
List your values
It’s hard to live by our values when we don’t feel clear on exactly what they are. Don’t feel bad if you’re unsure, in the midst of a busy life we’re often more focussed on the matters immediately at hand than the bigger picture. Taking the time to really think about our values and then writing them down, however, can help to crystalise our thinking.
Ask yourself key questions like: What is important to me, What makes me happy, When I have felt most proud or fulfilled?
Our values might change over time too.You can revisit this regularly and also use it to help straighten out your thinking when you feel confused or are facing a dilemma.