Louise Thompson: Happy birthday Bite

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2 today. Woot! This anniversary has me thinking about celebrations and birthdays.

Birthdays are a special day when we tend to be extra kind to ourselves, accepting treats and being made a fuss of. Even people who are uncomfortable being in the limelight will accept their moment in the glow to blow out the candles.

It's so important to celebrate milestones. Life is a marathon, not a sprint and it's so easy to fall into a rut and just bumble along in a groundhog day kind of a way. Recognising milestones breaks the journey and creates pause for reflection and celebration before regrouping energy and resources for the next phase.

We tend to be pretty future-focused as a species -always looking at what's still to do; how life will be when we have finished that thing or achieved that other thing. Or when the summer comes. Or what we will do when that particular issue is fixed or resolved. It's like we are always looking up the road, way into the distance, at how far we have to travel.

Future focus definitely has its motivational upside.

It focuses us with goals. It keeps us improving. It fans the flame of ambition. We strive and push for more. Better. Higher.

However, it's also good to pause a while, and have a quick look over our shoulder. To look at how far we have come, not how far we still have to travel. To take in the view from our current position and to see just how much good stuff we already have to be grateful for. To stop wishing that things could be different for a moment, and see just how different they already are from say, a year ago. Let's do that today. Let's look back and celebrate how far we have come. Some of your answers might well surprise you:

Two people who have made a big difference to my life this year are
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Two things I have learned about myself this year
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My best two accomplishments this year would be
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Two unexpectedly awesome moments I have experienced this year are
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The two things I am most proud of are
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If I could change two things about this year it would be
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The top two good habits I have kept up that have made the biggest impact on me are
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The two favourite places I have visited this year are
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My top two happy memories this year are
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My favourite two things I bought were
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Two ways I can celebrate my successes and progress this year are
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The two best decisions I made this year were
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Having an impromptu personal gratitude party for no reason is a great way to refuel your stores of motivation. Take strength from all this good stuff you have generated and put into your life. See how far you have come? Maybe you are stronger. Wiser. Richer. Calmer. Fitter. Smarter. Happier. Freer. Maybe you can now ski. Or crochet. Or use Excel. Or be the big boss. Or are a mother. You are not the same person. There may still be loads you want to achieve and change and that's all good. But just pause a minute at this milestone, and take a moment of gratitude for all you have right now, this moment.

Louise is a life coach, author and corporate escapee. Visit louisethompson.com for more.