Who decided that celebrations must be tied to accomplishments? Sure, celebrating achievements is great. It feels good to recognize hard work and milestones. But why do we only allow ourselves to celebrate when we’ve “earned” it? And more importantly, what are we missing out on when we do?
Our culture is deeply rooted in the idea that everything has to be merited. We’re constantly told that success comes from effort, that rewards must be justified. Even the well-intentioned encouragement to “celebrate small wins” still centers around productivity. It’s still about what we accomplish, what we do, what we produce.
This mindset creeps into how we think about happiness, too. I talk to so many people searching for joy, purpose, or meaning in their lives. They assume that once they accomplish the big thing – land the promotion, finish the degree, buy the house – then they’ll have permission to celebrate. Then they’ll be happy. Then life will feel good.
But what if you stopped waiting? What if you celebrated just because?
Celebration doesn’t have to be about achievement. It can be about existence. It can be about the everyday things we take for granted or the small joys that make life bearable. It can be about the fact that you’re here, in this moment, right now.
Consider what you could celebrate today:
Your betta fish’s half-birthday.
The fact that you woke up without back pain for the first time in weeks.
April Fool’s Day, even if you don’t pull any pranks.
The first sip of your morning coffee, the one that just hits right.
The fact that you made it through a long and exhausting week.
A particularly satisfying deep stretch.
The simple pleasure of hearing your favorite song at the exact right moment.
None of these things require effort. They don’t have to be earned. And that’s the point.
Life is not an endless checklist of things to accomplish before you can enjoy yourself. The problem with tying joy to achievement is that there’s always another milestone waiting. If you keep pushing celebration to “someday,” you might find that someday never really comes. There will always be a bigger goal, a harder challenge, another thing to strive for.
And yes, the world is a heavy place. There are serious things happening all the time. That doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to enjoy something small, something light, something fun. In fact, sometimes the most radical thing you can do in the face of hardship is to carve out moments of joy.
Embrace Reality Through Celebration
Celebration is not about ignoring reality. It’s about embracing it fully. It’s about recognizing that, even in the midst of struggle, there is still something worth noticing, something worth appreciating. We don’t have to wait until we’ve “earned” a break. We don’t have to delay joy until life is perfect – because life will never be perfect.
This isn’t about pretending everything is great when it isn’t. It’s about making space for joy alongside the hard things. It’s about holding both realities at once: the stress and the small delights, the uncertainty and the laughter, the grief and the tiny, unexpected moments of relief. We’re not meant to live in a constant state of striving without pause.
We spend so much time trying to be better, to do more, to keep up. But most of life is just the in-between moments. The mundane. The mediocre. The everyday. If you’re only allowing yourself to celebrate when something “big” happens, you’re missing out on most of your life.
So go ahead. Throw yourself a little party for no reason. Toast to the absurd. Mark the moment. Find something – anything – to celebrate today. Because joy isn’t a reward. It’s your right.
And it’s already here, waiting for you to claim it.
