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Unleashing Your Remarkable Potential
Issue 5.21 - May 27, 2008 - ISSN: 1551-6571

In Kevin's Own Words

12 Ways to Celebrate Your Birthday

Perhaps you don’t really celebrate your birthday - some people I know don't - or perhaps your birthday is your favorite day of the year. Either way you will want to read this article.

If you are a birthday lover - this will give you more reasons to love your day. If you aren't a birthday fan (it just reminds you that "I'm a year older today"), this article will give you a completely different focus for this day.

Notice the title isn't 12 ways to celebrate a birthday; it's 12 ways to celebrate your birthday! What follows are 12 specific ideas to make your special day even more special.

• Eat your favorite food. It's your day - you deserve it. Even if your favorite foods don't "go together," they do today. Enjoy!
• Do a favorite childhood activity. Maybe it was a board game, or playing tag, or doodling. Whatever it was, do it today! Do it as a way to reignite your inner child and your creativity. Do it for the pure enjoyment. You will be amazed at how it will make you feel.
• Remember your favorite birthday. If you have a particular birthday that sticks out to you, spend time thinking about it and reveling in those memories.
• Laugh out loud. Do something that makes you laugh with delight! Laughter feels good and is good for you. Perhaps one of the other ideas on this list will make you laugh out loud - if so, great!
• Give a gift to someone else. We all know it feels better to give than receive, so why not give gifts to others on our birthday? Consider starting with your mother - after all she had a more memorable day when you were born than you did!
• Give your day away! You don’t have to give a physical gift, you can give your time - to someone you love, to a charity or whatever you wish! Make your day a gift to someone else.
• Give yourself the gift of time. Sometimes our days are so packed with events and tasks that we don’t have time for ourselves. Consider giving yourself the gift of time for your own rest and relaxation (or the time to do another item on this list!).
• Send yourself a card. A few days or weeks before your birthday find a card you love, sign it and write yourself a note. Then address and stamp the envelope and ask someone to mail it to you a couple of days before your birthday. This is a great way to guarantee a card, and I promise it will make you smile.
• Spend time with someone you love. This might overlap with a couple of other ideas on the list - but that’s OK. What could make for a better day than spending time with those you care about the most?
• Make a memory. Challenge yourself to create memories today that will last a lifetime.
• Reflect on the last year. Your birthday is a milestone, so it can be a great day to review your results and actions of the past year to see how you have done and determine what is working - and what isn’t!
• Set some new goals. Today is a perfect day to look forward, to project into the future, to set goals for the next twelve months. If you don’t have goals written down, today is a perfect day to create them!

You'll notice this isn't like some lists you read that make you think you should try all of the ideas. It wouldn’t be possible to do all of these things in one day. The ideas fall into a focus on your past, present or future - and all of them are about you.

The key is to pick one that feels right to you and add it to your celebration. It is your day after all!

Final Note: While these ideas are written from the perspective of celebrating a birthday, all could be used - though perhaps tweaked slightly - for a team anniversary, company anniversary or other organizational milestone date.

Potential Pointer: We all have a day that is ours - our birthday. Why not celebrate it in a meaningful and fun way? On your next birthday think of the gift you will give yourself, whether connecting to your childhood, celebrating with those you love or making that day the start of an even brighter future!

Your Comments: Please visit Kevin's Blog to leave your comments on this article.

Kevin

Kevin's Recommends

The Go-Getter: A Story That Tells You How to Be One
by Peter B. Kyne

This book was first published in 1921 - long before The Greatest Salesman in the World or The One Minute Manager or a flood of the other business/self-help parables. Like them, this is a short book - 60 pages in my copy. Like them, it is a story.

It also happens to be an engaging, interesting, well told story too.. 

It doesn't have key points pulled out on separate pages, a pocket card to pull out or any other similar devices. It is a standalone story that is well worth reading. The title gives you an idea of the point of the story - and for me the book delivers.

Since it was written in the 1920's, the language is a bit different and it is stylistically different than a book written in the last few years. Rather than using that an excuse not to read it, consider that one more good reason to read it.

This book will provide you a short respite from the world with a good story, a new reading experience and a message worth remembering. We can choose to be a "go getter," and this book will provide both a reminder and a roadmap.

Learn more and purchase at Amazon.com.

Your Comments: Please visit Kevin's Blog to leave your comments on this article.

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