The days are getting shorter and cooler, and the trees are dropping their glorious bounty to the ground. Can you feel how the year is starting to wind down and come to a close?

That might freak you out, but that’s not how I meant it. Instead, I want to invite you into something much more nourishing.

There’s a rhythm to life, and we have arrived at the time of the year where that rhythm is slowing down. The rate and speed of autumn is markedly different from summer. It invites us to harvest the fruits of our labor, to begin turning inward, and to start moving at a slower pace.

But most importantly – and this is the step we most often skip! – this is a time to celebrate.

This is a season to appreciate the goodness and abundance in our lives, and to take stock of all that’s been accomplished. We so often bypass this step, and as a result we never pause to take in the bounty we’ve worked for and be truly inspired and fed by it.

How many times have you brought one project to a close and rather than taking a moment to acknowledge and receive what’s been created, you’ve run full speed into the next project?

When you skip the celebration, you miss out on a very powerful way to replenish yourself and fill your cup. Just think about what you are capable of when your cup is full, and how much harder everything becomes when your cup starts to run dry. Couldn’t you benefit from a little cup filling?

Celebrating can be as simple as sharing your achievements with a dear friend or colleague. It could look more elaborate, like a ritual or a party with cake! It could be something like taking a moment to list what’s been created, achieved, completed, up-leveled and transformed this year. Or maybe you take a day or a weekend to reflect on your year and really let it all sink in.

What we’ve created and accomplished is almost always more than what we think we’ve done. Every single day you are creating, contributing, and nurturing something into its biggest, best version of itself. Rather than believing that nothing is happening, or that what you’re doing isn’t that important or big or significant, take stock of what is occurring, and of what has been achieved.

Take it in and let yourself be inspired and nourished by it. Because you are amazing and it’s important for you to acknowledge your own greatness. Celebrating does something truly amazing – it banishes resentment, it counteracts exhaustion and fatigue, and it makes the journey to wherever your destination is much more enjoyable and fulfilling.

Even if your work isn’t done, or the project isn’t complete, or there’s so much more to do… Take a pause. Reflect on what’s brought you to this place. Take in the steps that have been taken to get you here. Honor who you’ve become in the process.

And then feel it and let it in.

What are you celebrating this year?