TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY… nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. As many of you know, I make a pretty big deal of BIRTHDATES and BIRTHDAYS. When my own 5 kids were growing up, we would do special Birthday Breakfasts… where we would write down goals, best friends, favorite stuff, etc. I still have all of that in the ‘Green Book’. It’s always great to look back at ‘goals‘ from a 5 or 10 or 17 years old.
Savannah, my oldest grandchild, was born on St. Patrick’s Day. We all celebrated her birthday the night before last. I’m taking her with me this May to Ireland to really ‘celebrate’ her birthday!
This year is not necessarily a ‘big one’ for me (61) in terms of the number… but at my age they’re all BIG!
Today I will ride my Harley to my favorite coffee shop. Review the last year and look forward to the next year. Write up all my notes from an amazing 3 hours with Nick and Christopher Celeste (my friend and life coach). Get a workout in at Sullivan’s Boxing Gym and then have a fun dinner with the family.
Special Note: I just got a great email from Meghan, a bright young superstar at the YMCA of Greater Seattle. She was thanking me for introducing her to the idea CELEBRATING your BIRTHDATE. (She and I were both born on the 19th.) She said she’s been “celebrating her birthdate for the last six months”, and thanked me for the great idea. She said it allowed her to “collect, rejuvenate and rejoice”.
I’ve been trying to encourage everyone I’ve been around the last 10 years to CELEBRATE their own BIRTHDATE. I’ve challenged thousands of individuals at speaking engagements and training to do the same.
I encourage you to make your BIRTHDATE a special day for YOU!!! Do something solo. (Visit a coffee shop with a journal or book. Motorcycle or bike ride. A yoga class. Whatever.) Do something special with those you love.
I also take that BIRTHDATE once a month to review goals, do some serious journal writing, etc.
Many people laugh (really hard) when I tell them to take their birthdate off!
My response is pretty simple. If we can’t set aside even one day a month for ourselves… then things are pretty screwed up! (It’s the whole EQUINOX/BALANCE thing.)
Final Thought: Since we are all literally terminally ill… we should try to CELEBRATE EVERY DAY… and be GRATEFUL for everything that we have.
