Everyone celebrates something. And what we celebrate determines how we view life and work and relationships. It even plots the road map for our future and our destiny.
Unfortunately, what we celebrate often drives us down the road of defeat, discouragement and even destruction. But it need not be that way.
Today more than ever, our lives are dominated and influenced by negative celebrations. Often, it’s the loudest voices that cloud our minds, steal our time, command our attention and monopolize our focus. These are the screams that cause us to divert our thoughts and attention away from the important centerpiece of our lives, that create the potholes in life that lead to frustration, fear and hopelessness.
The squeaky wheel gets the grease, right? And there is only so much “grease” to go around for your life. And we often spend so much time on the squeaky wheel “celebrations” that cry out that we have little time for the good stuff, which deserves our divine focus, quality time and nurturing.
There are many things that demand our attention in this fast-paced, ever-changing, non-ending cycle. Unfortunately, in this sped-up era, there is no downtime, no time for recovery, no time to reflect. And no time for the things that really matter.
Instead, we celebrate constant bickering and badgering on 24-hour news channels, the person who doesn’t show up to work and puts the pressure on everyone else to fill in the gap, the seemingly endless items on a to-do list that will never be completed, or the instant, drive-through gratification brought on by a world devoid of patience, self-control and perseverance.
Why not start a new trend? Why not stand out rather than blend in? Why not celebrate the good stuff! It’s a radical choice to be sure! And it won’t come easily.
Despite what you may hear in the grocery store, on Facebook, at the water cooler, on television or even at church at times, there is plenty of the “good stuff”! Yes, you’ll have to sift through the stinky, crumbly dumpster to get to the good stuff amongst all the negative rubble and gloomy debris, but it’s there!
Moreover, you’ll have to haul off that nasty junk to make room for the good stuff! You can’t celebrate the good stuff and leave the bad stuff piled up in the middle of the living room that is your mind, heart and emotions. You’ll have to turn off the bad celebration in order to begin to celebrate the good stuff!
It’s easy to get started! Celebrating something simply means spending your time thinking, acting, or doing something that is positive for your life. Read an inspirational book, exercise, spend quality time with your spouse or kids or simply relax and watch a magnificent sunset. Without a cell phone, without a television on in the background, without the interruption of the world.
If you can’t do it all, pick one thing, block out time for it and let the celebration begin. Don’t get side-tracked, diverted or short-circuited. It’s contagious, it’s habit-forming, and it’s life-changing.
Life will tell you that you can have it both ways, but life lies! You can’t celebrate all the gnarly negativity and mundaneness of today’s world and still enjoy the good celebrations too. Just as bad company corrupts, so too does choosing bad things to celebrate. The two can’t possibly live together.
Remember, being a success is about action. Today’s decision determines tomorrow’s destiny!
Make a choice. Start right now. Celebrate something of the good stuff! Celebrate the things that matter. Celebrate the eternal things.