In this digital age, it seems everyone has an opinion and wants to share it OR they want your precious review or feedback on a service they provided. If you are the person receiving the feedback, it gives you an immense sense of joy and validation because it fulfills or basic human need for approval. While this need is often chastised, it is built into our wiring and is nothing to be ashamed of. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be recognized for your work.

The problem is that external validation is fleeting and rarely honors us in a way that we find satisfactory. It leaves us constantly looking for that next dopamine hit. Enter smartphone and social media addiction. 

Celebrating ourselves meets this need from the inside, a place that can be tapped into at any time and isn’t reliant on another Instagram like or Yelp review. 

When you celebrate yourself, you are reinforcing your self-worth to your subconscious instead of shrugging it off in pursuit of “the next big thing.” For some people, this looks like a victory dance or taking themselves out for a nice meal. For me, I drew inspiration from one of my best friends and my favorite video game.

At the beginning of the year when I was planning out my 2020 (you know, before the universe laughed at all of us and tossed those plans out the window), I received an extremely touching gift from a close guy friend: a replica of the title mask from my favorite video game, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. When I asked him what the occasion was for such an extraordinary gift, he simply responded that it was for everything I’d overcome and accomplished and just for being me. If you know me at all, you know I cried at the reminder that I meant so much to someone.

It sparked an idea. What if I celebrated myself like this? Wouldn’t that be another amazing way to be my own best friend and validate and love myself? So I decided that, for each major goal that I reach, I am getting myself a replica of one of the masks.

That, my love, is how nerds leave reviews.

Today, I want you to stop and celebrate yourself. Maybe it is something you created or accomplished or maybe it is just that you got up and put on pants this morning. (Or maybe you just got up, no judgment!) Give yourself a 5 star review – just like you would with a service or product. Describe features you love and that bring happiness to your life. Remember, this is a FIVE STAR review, leave your criticisms elsewhere.