It was my birthday last week. Some people, when they get to my age… you know, 29, ignore their birthday. They don’t want to make a big deal about it, they want to forget that they are a year older. I am the complete opposite!

It’s the one day a year that is MY day. I block my calendar and don’t go into the office. I plan the day to do the things I really want to do. I spend time with people I enjoy being with. I am going to be a year older whether I ignore it or not so why not celebrate it?

At a recent seminar we talked about celebrating everything. I love this idea. Why not? Why do we put away the good stuff for “special” occasions? Everyday is a gift, everyday is special so use the good stuff. Use the crystal glasses, eat the good cheese, drink the expensive wine, wear the fancy dress, use the “guest” towels, wear red lipstick, have dinner in the dining room. We put these things away and they collect dust. We rarely use them, yet they make us happy when we do. Think about it, what item do you not use because it’s the “good stuff”… what are you saving it for?

Celebrate we will because life is short but sweet for certain ~ Dave Matthews

Celebrating big things is easy, weddings, graduations, a new house. But celebrating the little things doesn’t come as naturally… it should. By taking a moment (or more) to celebrate little things, life becomes better. When you appreciate even the smallest accomplishment you will feel more fulfilled, you will have joy in your life and you will be more mindful of positive things. Life happens in small steps and if you are waiting to only celebrate the big things, there isn’t going to be a lot of celebration in your life. Any time you do something that you are proud of yourself for, celebrate it. Did you get up without hitting the snooze button, did you get through the day without a cigarette, did you finally sign up for that race. Whatever small thing you do today, celebrate it! You don’t need champagne and streamers to celebrate, although not a bad idea, you can make a toast at dinner, say a prayer or just take a moment to appreciate yourself and your accomplishment.

Some days it’s just not your day. The other day I went out for a run. As soon as I started I knew it wasn’t going to be good. Each leg felt like it weighed 100 lbs, I was hardly moving. The beginning of the run is always the hardest so I kept pushing. After 2 minutes of running I realized that it just wasn’t happening today. I stopped running. This didn’t sit well with me as my plan was to run 5kms.

I remember training for a marathon a few years ago and I went out to run 25kms. I had all of my fuel, my plan, it was a beautiful day and I was mentally prepared. I managed to run 3 painful kilometres and had to stop. I was so upset. At the time I thought this was the end of my marathon training. But really what it was, was just a bad day.

These days happen. I’m not sure why, maybe I went to bed too late, maybe I didn’t eat enough the night before, maybe it just happens. What I have learned since the day that I couldn’t do the 25km training run is that it’s just one day and usually the next day my running is back to normal.

The really important lesson is that these days happen and physically I’ll still reach my goal if one training run doesn’t happen. The most difficult obstacle to overcome is accepting mentally, that it’s only one day and not to let it stop me from getting up the next day and doing it again.

This week, when I could only run for 2 minutes I walked 5kms instead. It wasn’t the workout that I had planned but it’s better than sitting on the couch. The next morning I got up and ran the 5kms and had a great run.

I think this can apply to all aspects of life. Not every day is going to be a great day. Not every day is going to go as planned. So walk instead of run. Get up the next day and try it again. But don’t let one bad day make you believe that you can’t do it, don’t give up your goal or plan.

Go live an EPIC life, even if every day doesn’t feel EPIC!

There are people who would love to have your bad days.