I was reminded twice today about the importance of celebrating the wins in life, even the small ones. It’s so easy to focus on the negative things. The things you wish you’d done differently. The areas of life that aren’t going as well as you would like them to be.

Some people are great at celebrating these things. In the work environment it can be seen as bragging. Celebrating doing what you are meant to be doing as part of the job. I know I’m not the sort of person that finds it easy to seek recognition at work for that exact reason. But sometimes it’s important to look back, see what you’ve achieved and celebrate. Those little things can easily add up to bigger celebrations.

During a conversation today I dug out my gratitude journal which I knew I hadn’t filled in for a while. What I didn’t realise is I haven’t filled it in since 2 January! As well as celebrating a win everyday, however small, I would capture a highlight of the day and something I was grateful for. Looking back at the entries over the last couple of months of 2023 I realised none of the things I captured were big things, but they were all things that had made my days better in some way.

I’m a glass half empty kind of person by default. I focus on the things that didn’t go well rather than the things that did. I’ll never be one of those positive people that skips through life thinking that everything is great. The state of the world right now makes it even harder to be that sort of person than usual. But I do want to get back in to reflecting on the positives. Hopefully that will start to help me balance out the negative events or things that bring me down.

This evening I joined a livestream of a funeral for an inspiring young woman. Hearing her friends and family tell stories of her life clearly demonstrated her zest for life, even through the eight years since she was diagnosed with cancer.

As I continue to look for signs that she is still with us looking out for us, I’ll take those words with me and try to live with that same enthusiasm, celebrating everything and being grateful for the little things as I go.