4 Ways to Treat Yourself during a Positive Occasion

In life, there are certain special occasions that just have a disproportionately positive and significant impact on us – events that might forever define or redefine who we are, in some fundamental sense.

Weddings, of course, are one of the clearest examples of these positive life milestones – and your wedding is undoubtedly going to be a “treat” in and of itself.

Still, even though an occasion like a wedding is by all accounts its own reward, you can still deepen the overall joy, positivity, and memorability of the experience by giving yourself a treat or two in addition to the occasion itself.

These days, we’re often so caught up and distracted in our everyday routines, and with our everyday obligations – not to mention with the constant stream of information afforded by the media and the digital world in general – that we can end up overlooking the importance of indulging in some uplifting moments of balanced self-indulgence.

What better time to indulge yourself than during a significant and positive life occasion?

Here are just a few ways in which you can treat yourself during a special moment in your life.

With a great outfit and some killer accessories

There’s a very old saying that goes “clothes make the man,” and the same thing can be said for women, too.

Although, of course, we are all much more than the sum of our appearances and the outfits we wear, the way we dress and present ourselves will nonetheless always have a major psychological impact on how we feel, how we carry ourselves, and even the degree to which we feel psychologically capable of engaging in certain activities in a confident way.

Getting your hands on a great outfit that you’ve been eyeing up some time – not to mention some killer accessories like Kate Spade glasses – simply feels good, and caters to that little impulse we all feel to reinvent ourselves in some small way, while also enjoying the childlike sense of excitement that comes with getting a hold of something cool.

It might be that you feel a bit uncomfortable with the idea of spending money on a particular outfit under normal circumstances – in which case, a special milestone occasion in your life might be just the right opportunity for justifying the purchase.

With an out of the ordinary and memorable experience

Of course, if you are experiencing a major and positive milestone event in your life such as a wedding, it goes without saying that you are already forging memories and are doing something out of the ordinary.

It’s worth keeping in mind, though, that the special moments in our lives can be deepened and enriched by adding some additional out-of-the-ordinary and memorable experiences.

Weddings are traditionally followed by honeymoons, for example – often to beautiful and scenic locations that you wouldn’t normally visit on a whim, on any given weekend.

By the same token, a milestone birthday or some other similar life event might be well underlined and commemorated by ticking off some bucket list item of yours.

In the book, “The Power of Moments” by Chip and Dan Heath, the authors make a very compelling case that much of what gives life its rich psychological meaning and depth is the experiences that we accumulate which diverge in a positive way from our everyday routines – rather than things like our material possessions, for example.

With some guilt-free relaxation

According to Celeste Headlee, author of the book “Do Nothing,” there is a strange paradox causing misery across the world today – namely that even though we all generally have far more time and luxury at our disposal than our grandparents did, we are nonetheless increasingly stressing ourselves out with our commitment to the “cult of productivity and busyness.”

If you are the kind of person who constantly feels guilty if you aren’t achieving something in every given moment of the day, maybe what you need as a treat for a special moment in your life is simply some guilt-free relaxation.

Give yourself permission to lounge around in your pyjamas all weekend eating ice cream and watching nature documentaries, if you feel like it. A bit of idleness on occasion may actually do you some real good. The key is balance.

With the company of some of your favourite people

As human beings, we are all social creatures – and even the most introverted among us needs some regular social interaction with people we care about, in order to feel properly fulfilled in life.

Generally speaking, one of the best ways of making a special moment in your life even more special is to spend it in the company of some of your favourite people.

Make plans to put your everyday chores and routines aside, so that you can share some laughs and memories with some of your favourite people.