How do you celebrate the accomplishments and milestones in your life? Think: major birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, awards, etc.

Now, consider: How do you celebrate the “smaller” things, the little achievements or special moments that could slide past more easily, if not given their own due attention?

In my experience, it’s easy to let those little moments slip past. When you’re doing so many things, or constantly looking ahead to the next goal, you could forget that there’s something worth celebrating right now.

In this sense, I’m trying to slow down a little bit and allow myself to really FEEL the joy of these things as they arise.

This is a bit of a mental health practice for me. As someone who experiences frequent anxiety (and has struggled with depression in the past), it’s useful for me to practice focusing on what is good and special in the current moment.

I also think it’s important (for me, and likely others) to share that enthusiasm externally. My inclination is to feel a sense of inner pride or satisfaction but not necessarily to express it and invite others into it. Even sharing this newsletter with you gives me some twinges of vulnerability, but I’m doing it anyway.

Further, I believe this type of practice can help with storytelling. When we increase our awareness of the present moment, we cement the details into our brains—giving us better recall, and more potential stories to tell in future.

As Seth Godin points out, “We don’t actually remember much of what happens. Instead, we get what we’ve rehearsed. If we fail to rehearse, the memory will fade.”

So, with that, here are a few things I’m celebrating this month.

🎓My client Steve Mesler’s amazing commencement speech to the graduating class at University of Florida: www.youtube.com/watch?v=itjiWHwrUI0

I loved working with Steve on this heartfelt speech, and the response to it has been overwhelmingly positive. As Steve’s writing coach and communications partner, I am so proud. He demonstrates vulnerability, authenticity, and a willingness to engage with discomfort… when I say “storytelling with heart”, this is what I mean.

📚The launch of The Menopause Coaching Specialist Certification by my client, GGS: go.girlsgonestrong.com/menopause-pre-sale-list1

This Certification is designed to help coaches better support women throughout the menopause transition. My work on this product included consulting and concept development, research, writing, editing, and more—after all that, it is so rewarding to see it come to life. I’m incredibly proud of the product and truly believe it will change lives.

🎙️A dozen episodes of The Storytelling with Heart Podcast.

Hey, apparently most podcasts don’t reach 10 episodes, and I’m just getting started. So why not celebrate my 12th episode? Catch up on all episodes here.

♥️ My 18th wedding anniversary with my husband.

(We’re not quite at the 20 year milestone, but married long enough that I had to check with him to see what year we’re at lol. I think that’s worthy of celebration.)

💼 My 9th year running my business.

(Again, not quite at 10… but I think 9 is special too.

And, incidentally, this month marks 7 years of writing this newsletter!)

So, those are a few of mine. What are some of yours? Comment and let me know.

I think there’s a bit of magic in acknowledging these things out loud and to other people. If you’re genuinely excited or proud of something, why keep it to yourself?

Meanwhile, check out this cool story about someone else who recently celebrated a HUGE milestone—their first published book.

At a young age, Linh S. Nguyen wrote a letter to her future 30 year old self that said, “congratulations on your first book.”

Her youthful confidence was right on the money because now she is the proud author of No Place Like Home, a middle-grade fantasy novel, released by HarperCollins Canada.

I recently interviewed Linh on the Storytelling with Heart podcast, where we chatted about things like:

How Linh made time to write her first novel while working a full time job — and how she makes time to write now, as a full time author.
Why you should embrace the messy first draft … and why your draft doesn’t have to be perfect (far from it) to get published.
Why you should be prepared for rejection, but also know that getting published IS possible!
How to incorporate your own experiences into your story to give it more depth and relatability. (In Linh’s case this included pulling in some of her experiences immigrating to Canada from Vietnam as a child) and more.

If you have dreams of writing and publishing a book or working as an author…

And/or you want to make more time for your writing…

And/or you want to use your real life experiences in your storytelling…

…. don’t miss this episode. Listen at all the usual places: my website, Spotify, Apple podcasts, Google, Amazon, and anywhere else you listen.

I hope you’ll find some inspiration in my interview with Linh. Meanwhile, as you continue to work towards your goals and aspirations, don’t forget to celebrate exactly where you’re at.

I’m celebrating right along with you.

Why wait to celebrate?