Despite having said that women should be given a break to feel down and then get back up, this week my encouragement is on celebrating yourself. In today’s society, we learn to celebrate everything and anything: Your dog’s birthday, that job promotion, or that fifty dollars you found in the back pocket of your jeans. Either way, you should try to celebrate the little things — and ways to celebrate yourself. How you celebrate yourself as a woman matters a lot, especially in a world that expects so much from us. It is always a reminder of myself that, as a woman, you should always clap for yourself before you go out to the universe and it gives you an applause.
Your little wins matter and with this, allowing yourself to be proud of your achievements is a big deal. Women are known for being hard on themselves and if you’re having a bad day or feeling low on self-esteem, a kind word or simple compliment from someone can make an enormous difference. However, it is often so much so that, we find ourselves so beaten that we do not believe these compliments. Again, be kind to yourself and give yourself space to celebrate yourself. Although celebrating others and little achievements are always a good way to bring that euphoric fulfillment back into your life, you should also try to celebrate the one person that deserves it the most: you. This is important because sometimes life throws you tons of problems and you forget to even pat your shoulder for waking up.
Taking care of yourself and celebrating your little wins should not be difficult. When you get home from a long day’s work, sit down and watch your favourite TV show with a glass of wine and just unwind. Personally, for me, watching The Office always does the trick. It will make you feel better about the day you had. If you have not had a good month, at the end of it, go for a manicure and perhaps a facial. Allow yourself to be happy about what you did throughout the month. Sometimes we are so hard on ourselves that we forget that we deserve a break where we can be happy for ourselves for once.
If you are someone that loves to perhaps run after work and you have been consistent for a month, please have at least one cheat day. I highly doubt that it is the vanilla ice cream and or ribs that will kill you. Besides, cheat days are there to encourage you on how far you have come and remind yourself that you do deserve a break. Lastly, if you do happen to get compliments from people, accept them because that way you will acknowledge your hard work. You need to allow yourself to see the goodness others are seeing in you.
Celebrate yourself.
• Frieda Mukufa’s lifestyle section concentrates on women-related issues and parenting every Friday in the New Era newspaper.