For the Ones Who Struggle to Celebrate Themselves

If you're anything like me, you’ve probably found yourself here before—on the edge of something beautiful, something hard-earned, something you poured your whole heart into... and yet, you can’t feel the joy.

You want to be proud. You want to soak in the celebration, let it wash over you. But instead, you feel stuck. Disconnected. Afraid.

You’ve accomplished something real. Maybe it’s something you’ve dreamed of for years. For me? I just published three books. That sentence alone should come with fireworks in my chest, but instead, there’s this dull hum of doubt. A voice that whispers:

“It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Don’t get too excited.”
“What if people laugh?”
“What if they think you’re full of yourself?”

It’s not that I don’t care. It’s that somewhere along the way, I learned that celebrating myself was dangerous. That being happy made me a target. That being seen made me vulnerable.

So I stayed small. I got good at minimizing. I built quiet masterpieces and hid behind the curtain, hoping someone would find them, love them, validate them—without me having to speak a word.

But here's the truth I’m learning (and maybe you need to hear this too): Joy isn’t arrogance. Self-celebration isn’t shameful. Wanting to be seen isn’t wrong.

You are allowed to be proud. You are allowed to feel the bigness of your small beginnings. You are allowed to say, “This matters to me.”

Even if no one claps.
Even if someone mocks.
Even if you’ve been taught your whole life that pride should be earned through suffering and perfection.

You’ve survived so much already. And still, you created something beautiful. That alone is worthy of pause. Of recognition. Of joy.

If no one else has said it, let me say it for both of us:
I’m proud of you.
I see how hard you’ve worked.
I see how scared you’ve been.
And I see how brave you are for doing it anyway.

So maybe today, we just let the pride in a little. A small sip. A soft smile. A whispered, “I did it.”
That’s enough. That’s everything.

And we keep going from there.