It was my birthday last week and I decided to throw my kids a party

You might be thinking, ‘But it was your birthday, Jenny! Shouldn’t they have thrown a party for YOU?!”

Yes, indeed it was my birthday…. And I was bursting with so much joy and energy that I wanted to throw a dance party for my family!

And I thought to myself, ‘this is what abundance feels like.’

With this in mind, as I watched my children and husband trying to clandestinely plan a party for me (I’m a mom! We see and know everything!) I went over to my husband and whispered to him: “I have a plan.”

I sent him out (read: respectfully requested, of course) to get the cake I knew we would all enjoy, set the lighting in the upstairs of our home, set the music mix, connected the speakers, and hit the play button.

We danced and danced, and then celebrated some more with cake (and a nice surprise, I did not expect, the kids and my husband prepared for me.)

And we had a blast.

A similar thing happened when I went out with my husband the night before to celebrate this same birthday.

At first I was feeling bummed because we hadn’t made a reservation.

I really wanted to go out to a nice restaurant (I thought about this mainly in my own mind) and when we got to one that was highly recommended, the only seats they had available for us were at the bar.

Sitting at the bar, I thought to myself, ‘but it’s my birthday, we should have a proper table.’

It was a struggle for me at first to let go of this thought, but I worked hard to fight and let go of it as I had made up my mind to have a fun evening.

As the evening progressed I focused more and more on enjoying where we were, as opposed to where we weren’t. (It was quite fun watching all the cooks and chefs working so well together behind the bar, actually.) It turned into one of the most enjoyable evenings my husband and I had out in while!

The lesson that was reinforced for me through this experience was this:

Instead of waiting, start creating that which you want.

Life is more fun and empowering this way.

Why?

Because you feel more in control.

And everyone wins.

How might you be able to apply this lesson in your life, work, and/or relationships?