What Will You Celebrate Today?

Mar 2, 20213 min read

Updated: Mar 9, 2021

Greetings, Wellness Warriors! Have you found something to celebrate lately? In a previous blog, I discussed how grateful responses to life could lead to peace of mind, happiness, physical health, and deeper, more satisfying personal relationships. Celebrate the large milestones, and especially the small ones. Putting one foot in front of the other is how we accomplish remarkable feats.

Aegis Communities Celebrate

I am so pleased to announce that on February 5th, our Aegis Communities reached a significant milestone: Every Aegis Living community finished its first round of vaccines. Many of our communities have already completed their second clinics, and the rest will be completed by the end of February. I am blown away by our staff and resident participation. They have been phenomenal, and we're not done yet! In March we have additional clinics scheduled for anyone who still needs their second dose.

Our community teams have worked hard to prepare for the vaccine clinics and make the days extra-special celebrations. We know firsthand how challenging the last year has been for our staff, residents, and their families. Receiving these vaccinations has been a long time coming, and our communities are now able to breathe a well-deserved sigh of relief. After the first-round vaccines were completed, our staff came up with creative themed celebrations for our residents to celebrate this incredible milestone. Our Life Enrichment team came up with themes like "COVID No More" and "Saturday Night No Fever." They even made custom t-shirts, brought in photo booths, balloon displays, and special treats like non-alcoholic Jell-O "shots" and cookies decorated with masks.

Additionally, Washington state has eased restrictions in our Safe Start Phase 1 Guidance, which allows us to have controlled small group activities, small group dining, and limited salon services at our Washington communities. These changes are going quite well, and you can feel the heightened energy among our residents. Now that majority of our communities have been vaccinated, our residents can begin to return to a state of togetherness.

Don’t Overlook Small Achievements

When I look back on the past year, I noticed that I achieved many goals that I didn't stop to acknowledge or celebrate in the middle of missing loved ones and amid the uncertainty about the future. Living in a time of global crisis, it can be easy to overlook small achievements.

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Research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology shows people who incorporate a daily habit of practicing gratitude and some form of celebration are less anxious and have overall better physical health. If you have a large milestone you are looking forward to; I urge you to take the time to reflect on the small milestones in your life and take the time to celebrate them!

If you're working on a weight loss goal, celebrate learning to cook a healthier meal or sticking to your workout routine for some time. Are your clothes fitting a bit looser? That's a small milestone to be celebrated and doing so will help you stay motivated! If you are working toward a promotion in your career, give yourself credit for the small steps you have taken to get closer to that goal. Whether it be completing a certification course or implementing new procedures in the workplace, these need to be acknowledged. Are you saving money for a large purchase like a car or a new home? Be proud of the steps you have taken to save any amount toward your goal. The small steps are what get you closer to that momentous moment you're chasing after.

I think the key here is to recognize that our big goals aren't achieved overnight. It can be easy to focus on the end goal rather than the small and significant steps we take to get us to that goal. It goes without saying that completing our vaccination clinics was a massive undertaking, and we achieved a lot of small milestones along the way. Breaking down long-term goals into smaller mini-milestones keeps you motivated, focused, and will remind you why you set a goal in the first place.

Final Thoughts

Sometimes just getting out of bed in the morning during this global crisis is an achievement. Give yourself credit where credit is due because we all achieve small milestones every day. I hope I have inspired you to look at your life from a new perspective.