Did you Congratulate Yourself Today?

No, you didn't finish your masters today! No, your kid didn't win that race! No, you didn't get married or gave birth to a child… No, you didn't sign a billion-dollar deal or won the lottery!

You might have, but those are not the only things worth congratulating yourself on! If it were not for those small things that we do every day none of those big things would ever be possible.

And so every time you achieve those small baby steps you plan to take each day, even if they are the tiniest ones in the journey, congratulate yourself! Every time you promised yourself one tiny thing… and accomplished it, pat yourself. We may not accomplish great things always! But if you remember clearly, those we once did, are mere accolades gathering dust today! Just like one day, we all will too.

But it is those tiny small steps, that we take every single day. They don’t gather dust. But they are the ones we don’t even realize or think are worthy of celebrating. Taken for granted, they are the ones that make us who we are, not those grand endings that no matter how many we have always fade and seem hollow after a while.

Maybe you sent out two job applications on positions you really felt fit for, or tried that recipe that you saw online and couldn't wait to try, and it turned out yummy or didn't disappoint you that much. Or you spotted your niece doing something really funny or showing her recently discovered emotions and gestures. It can be a tear that you shed missing a beloved or reciting Quran that you have been delaying for days, but finally made yourself do.

Appreciate those things as much as big things, no matter how small and invisible they seem. In the long run, they are that that lead to those big ones we eventually congratulate someone for.

Celebrate when your niece does something amazing, without her even realizing it, or when you cook that recipe, or when you hear your bro call you, to check on you, because the whole week he hasn’t heard your rants and when one night you can't sleep and he talks to you till 5 am, celebrate that or even better when you are able to do what someone asks you to do.

I hope each one of us celebrates these small everyday moments. And though it may not be practical to invest in a feast every time you achieve a small deed or experience a simple act of beauty, at least celebrate by acknowledging them and feeling good in yourself and taking note of it in the list of great things achieved, for small things are big things!