What special days do you want to celebrate?

Did you know that today is a very special day? Are you ready to celebrate? Google shared that August 5th has some unique celebrations. We wanted to give you a heads-up so you could be prepared and really enjoy the day!

You probably will never guess the first reason to celebrate August 5th. Drum roll! It’s because August 5th is designated as National Underwear Day. How’s that for a surprise! Actually, the people who started this unusual day are the owners of the website FreshPair, an online store selling a variety of underwear brands. It seems like a crazy idea to have National Underwear Day but it’s an innovative way to market.

Believe it or not, in 2013, FreshPair organized an event in New York City’s Times Square where 800 people showed up dressed in their best – you guessed it – underwear! This was not enough to break the Guinness World Record but it was the birth of National Underwear Day. Now, you can be ready to celebrate but aren’t you glad we don’t have that celebration in our community!

Another designation of a national day on August 5th is Work Like a Dog Day. That day was created to honor hard workers. The day recognizes that some people just try to get by and do as little as possible. Other people will work-like-a-dog to get things done. They seldom take breaks and won’t stop until the job is done.

At first this seems like a good trait. Nobody likes a slacker. However, at times this type of behavior can be counter-productive. Research shows that people accomplish more with fewer mistakes when they take breaks. Also, these hard workers often lose a sense of balance and suffer negative consequences in several areas of their life, such as family, friends, fun and health. Aren’t you glad that we don’t have celebrations of Work Like a Dog Day?

Don’t give up on special days just because the two we mentioned don’t seem to suit you. We’d like to introduce you to another special day that deserves celebration. That day is today! The nice thing about it is that it doesn’t have to be August 5th or any other particular date on the calendar.

Today is a very special day, because it’s your day. You have choices to make the day how you want it to be. Yes, there may be responsibilities to fulfill. Maybe the day didn’t start off quite the way you wanted. But you are alive and you have choices in what to do about it and choices in how to think about it. Here are some ways to make it better and celebrate this special day of your life. Goethe said, “Nothing should be prized more highly than the value of each day.”

Allow yourself to see the good in each day. Sometimes the good things are little, like birds singing, colorful flowers or a beautiful sunset. Robert Brault said, “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”

Some other good things are big but they can be easily overlooked. So take time to appreciate if you can see, or hear, or feel. Can you understand words and communicate? Can you move your body? It has been said, “Every day may not be good, but there’s good in every day” Surely there are many things to be grateful for today.

We can celebrate having family, friends and neighbors in our lives. And when we learn to take in the positive and step aside when negative things get thrown at us, the days can be very special. We may have shared this saying before but it bears repeating. It’s an anonymous saying that hangs outside our office door and reminds us of how special each day is. We hope it’s meaningful to you, too.

“This is the beginning of a new day.
God has given me this day to use as I will.
I can waste it or I can grow in its light
and be of service to others.
But what I do with this day is important
because I have exchanged a day of my life for it.
When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever.
I hope I will not regret the price I paid for it.”

What about you? What special days do you want to celebrate? They’re probably not National Underwear Day or Work Like a Dog Day! We encourage you to celebrate each day as your special day and spend it well. Remember, each day is a gift!

Chanhassen MN residents, Doug and Lynn Nodland are success coaches and owners of The Balance Center in Excelsior. Contact them at WeCare@SharingLifesLessons.com

© Doug and Lynn Nodland 2021 Articles and videos may be shared in their entirety with attribution.