We all take our lumps in life. The world has a funny way of balancing out wins and losses and I truly believe that nobody ever goes on an uninterrupted winning streak.  Things come crashing down, the other shoe eventually drops and we are all humbled at some point in our lives. 

Lord knows, I have taken my share of losses. I do often feel that I get an unfair share of punches to my gut, but quickly come to my senses and remember that there are people out there getting punched even harder. Although our wins and losses might not be perfectly balanced, we all get to experience both at some point. 

I have taken some pretty large losses in my life, but I have also received more blessing than I feel I have deserved. We don’t always do a great job of taking inventory on those wins and losses and most of us are quick to recognize the things we don’t have in life and the pain we have felt. Pain is a stronger and longer lasting feeling than happy. Pain leaves marks, scars and has ways of draining you. Happy is great, but it is hard to maintain and inevitably finds a way of leaving and leveling out.  Happy is the joy of going down a playground slide.  Pain is like climbing up the slide and not using the ladder like you’re supposed to.

So a few years ago I decided that it was important for me to celebrate more of my life.  To cherish and enjoy my victories. No matter how small or short-lived, these victories deserve to be toasted, enjoyed and celebrated. Some victories are silent and can be quietly acknowledged by you and you alone, but some need to be accompanied with a great meal or at least a cocktail. If you follow me on social media, I share photographic evidence of my victories. Besides bad parking pictures, there are two other objects that I often snap pictures of. 

1). A brand new jar of peanut butter. There is something about being the first person to crack open a brand new jar of unopened and vacuum sealed peanut butter. I live with three other peanut butter eaters in this house and it’s a competition to be the first person to open a fresh jar. It’s a small victory, but I feel it must be celebrated. It’s like waking up in time to look out and witness a perfect sunrise over motionless lake or pond.  It’s magical! 

2). A frosty glass with a fresh gin martini inside of it. Dirty. Up. With three olives (preferably stuffed). This is my Gatorade bucket victory drink. When I have personally done something great or been a part of something worth celebrating, I make or order a dirty gin martini. This cocktail is my trophy. It’s my slam dunk. My spiked ball in the end zone and my walk off home run. When you see me post a picture of this drink on social media, just know it’s been a good day and it is truly deserved. The martini pic is the one that occasionally gets met with comments from “haters”. 

Anytime you celebrate any of your victories in a fashion that allows others to witness, you are eventually met with resistance from a person or group of people that are hell-bent on keeping you humble. Although staying humble is important, you earned that win and you should be able to enjoy the high for as long as it lasts. As you know, the highs in life don’t last nearly as long as the lows. You are responsible for keeping yourself grounded and those who want to anchor you, because they are not in your shoes, should resist the urge. You don’t need to be humbled by others, life will take care of that for you. You climbed that mountain when they chose to stay at the bottom or take on some other task. You bought that six pack of beer...they don’t get to drink it or tell you how to sip. 

#Tryharder to celebrate your victories and the victories of others. The outside world does not know the losses you have taken or the beating you took to get to that win. You deserve it and nobody has the right to throw shade on your moment.