Hi Friend,
Have you ever noticed how often you make space to celebrate other people?
You remember the birthdays and the milestones. You send the encouraging text, the “I’m so proud of you” message, to the people you love.
And hopefully others celebrate you, too, on your birthday, when something big happens, or when there is a clear reason to gather around your joy.
But outside of those moments…when do you celebrate yourself?
It’s so easy to move past our own personal growth without pausing long enough to say, Hey, I did that. We finish something and immediately look for what still needs fixing or what’s next on our to-do list. We make it through a difficult season of life and jump right back into being "productive." We change and heal, choose differently, and then quickly move on to the next thing in life.
Celebration is not only for the milestone moments that are recognized by society.
Sometimes the celebrations we most need to acknowledge are the everyday ones: surviving a hard week, learning from a past mistake, or responding in a way that actually calms your nervous system instead of activating it.
You don’t need to wait for someone else to notice your growth. You can create space to celebrate the version of you who is becoming. 💌
What will you celebrate today? Respond to this email and let me know! 🤗
Rachel
📖 Know
There’s a reason small moments of acknowledgment can feel so powerful. Researchers have shown that dopamine pathways help the brain track reward, motivation, and signals that something is worth paying attention to—all of which support adaptive behavior and future action.
When you pause to notice a small win, your brain gets a clearer signal that this mattered. Celebration can become a moment of reinforcement: I kept going. I accomplished something important to me. I want to remember this feeling.
Source: Dopamine in motivational control: rewarding, aversive, and alerting
🌱 Begin
Choose one small thing you want to honor and celebrate from this week.
It can be something visible, like finishing a project or having a hard conversation. Or it can be something private, like resting when you needed to, asking for help, or keeping a promise to yourself.
Now, write it down in one sentence to allow your brain to remember it:
I want to celebrate myself for…
⛰️ Explore
Bring awareness to the life areas that might need a little more TLC.
✨ Reflect
“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” — Oprah Winfrey
What is one part of your life, growth, or effort that you have been minimizing, and what would it look like to honor and celebrate it today?
📍 Currently…
A curated collection of interesting articles, interviews, products that are currently on my radar.
✨ If you’ve been saying yes out of guilt (or fear of disappointing someone), this is a helpful refresher on setting boundaries that actually feel sustainable: Setting healthy boundaries without guilt
✨ I’m going on a quick trip and want to make sure I have some nourishing go-to’s when I’m on the go, so I’m packing these soup packets for emergencies.
✨ For nights when your mind won’t turn off and your body feels keyed up, these tools can help you ease the spiral and settle into rest: How to soothe nighttime anxiety
✨ The book on metabolic health and cancer that I’m currently reading
✨ If summer has you feeling a bit depleted (or snacky but not truly nourished), these easy recipes are a simple way to get more steady energy into your day: High-protein smoothies for easy nourishment
🤗 Support
Thank you for being here 🫶 If you'd like to support the growth of this free newsletter, here are a few ways below… ⤵️
🫶 Support the newsletter and buy me a coffee (or matcha latte in my case 😊🍵)
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