I am most proud of myself for…

This is not a “puff myself up” type of pride, but a recognition of “hey, I can do hard things” pride. This is a celebrate me and celebrate you pride! Let’s face it, some of those little things were hard (and still are) to do in the midst of a pandemic.

One year and two months on from the first reported Covid case in South Africa, what have you been through and where are you now?

Take a bit of time to celebrate what you’re proud of yourself for since March 2020. I don’t know how big your storm has been in this time, and how you feel you’ve weathered it. But what I do know is that you will be able to find something you’re proud of yourself for, no matter how small. I know people who have started a new business, become sober, managed to lose weight, watched all of Netflix (I won’t judge if you feel proud of yourself for that!), started a new hobby, moved towns or provinces or even countries, spent more time with family, just not given up, survived mental health struggles… there are so many very small to very big things you can find to celebrate yourself for. For children it could be that they started grade 1 or started high school, made new friends, started doing chores at home, adapted to home schooling, adapted to many, many changes, asked for help, learned to tie their shoe laces, learned to ride a bike, donated something to someone in need or learned how to manage their big feelings a little better. Any and every little thing can be celebrated!

So, here’s the activity challenge that you can take as a family. Have a chat about what it means to be proud of yourself. This is not a “puff myself up” type of pride, but a recognition of “hey, I can do hard things” pride. This is a celebrate me and celebrate you pride! Let’s face it, some of those little things were hard (and still are) to do in the midst of a pandemic.

Then, each make a certificate for yourselves celebrating one thing you’re most proud of yourself for. Here’s mine, just as an example.

You can do yours freehand on paper or cardboard and put your own creative spin on it. Or you could do one template for the whole family and get each person to fill in and decorate their own. Have fun!

Some helpful ground rules; allow each person in the family to speak about what they are proud of themselves for without judging responses. Even if someone did something once, they can choose to celebrate that if they wish. This is a chance for everyone to show love to one another in their words and actions, and it’s not a competition. Try to be specific about what you are celebrating, like choosing one change you are most proud of adapting to and naming it. Such as, I am proud of learning how to schedule Zoom calls.

Show one another your certificates, again in the spirit of love and without judgement, and celebrate with one another.

I’m proud of you for reading this whole article. Thanks for being here!