We celebrate birthdays. Really, all you have to do is, not die for the next 365 days— Drew Dudley In my business, we do a lot of employee engagement surveys and we consult companies on

improving their scores. After tens of studies, you know what is the biggest complaint that comes about?  _If I meet my plan for ten months, nobody celebrates my achievements. One month, I do

not meet my plan, and the sky falls on everyone’s collective heads. Yes I am given my incentive, which is slipped into my pay cheque, but nothing more than that.  If I do something good for

the company, who is there to notice? Am I really valued here? _ _Work is not the place where I have friends. Actually it is more on the lines of, can we ever have friends at work? Yes we

The opening scene of the famous movie _Love Actually_ starts with Hugh Grant as a newly elected British Prime Minister saying: _“WHENEVER I GET GLOOMY WITH THE STATE OF THE WORLD, I THINK

ABOUT THE ARRIVALS GATE AT HEATHROW AIRPORT. GENERAL OPINION IS STARTING TO MAKE OUT THAT WE LIVE IN A WORLD OF HATRED AND GREED, BUT I DON'T SEE THAT. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT LOVE IS

EVERYWHERE. OFTEN, IT'S NOT PARTICULARLY DIGNIFIED OR NEWSWORTHY, BUT IT'S ALWAYS THERE - FATHERS AND SONS, MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS, HUSBANDS AND WIVES, BOYFRIENDS, GIRLFRIENDS, OLD

FRIENDS. WHEN THE PLANES HIT THE TWIN TOWERS, AS FAR AS I KNOW, NONE OF THE PHONE CALLS FROM THE PEOPLE ON BOARD WERE MESSAGES OF HATE OR REVENGE, THEY WERE ALL MESSAGES OF LOVE. IF YOU LOOK

FOR IT, I'VE GOT A SNEAKY FEELING YOU'LL FIND THAT LOVE ACTUALLY IS ALL AROUND.” _ Just meeting someone after a long time is a cause for celebration. Sometimes, when I am in a

call center, and a shy looking call center agent completes a sale, you can see instant celebration! Sometimes it is a rather sophisticated alternate shoulder twisting seated jig. Sometimes

it is just a silent hands raised in a V. Sometimes it is a high five.  WHY DO I SAY CELEBRATIONS ARE HARDWIRED IN OUR DNA?  The oldest cave paintings are about celebrations that our

ancestors had several thousands of years ago. It could be at the end of a successful hunt or just killing a lurking predatory sabre toothed cat who had feasted on three sheep and four goats.

Sometimes the celebrations would be over beating back a raid from a rival tribe. Sometimes the celebrations would be a new alliance with a new tribe. They would paint them on the walls of

their caves. Kings and queens would commission artists to make paintings to capture the moment of the celebration.  The tradition of carving their celebration of these little victories

lasted for thousands of years, till perhaps the last few decades.  Why do you think our forefathers did that?  Here is my opinion. Perhaps the anthropologists amongst the readers of this

column might be able to verify. If there is ever a study of the first language used as communication, if we were to ever discover the first few spoken words that were invented, I am willing

to wager that they would be words of joy or celebration. An equivalent of the modern and rather universal symbol of teenage celebration 'Yay!'   FIRST, IT WAS PERHAPS AN INSPIRING

REMINDER of their personal capabilities in overcoming adversity and achieving the small milestones of everyday victories.  SECOND, CELEBRATIONS WERE ABOUT LEARNING AND GRATITUDE. It was a

learning process for their progeny of their own capabilities and perhaps setting a benchmark for them to follow. When a child hit her first perfect bulls-eye, it was celebrated. It was a

sign of gratitude that the child was ready to move to the next level.  THIRD, CELEBRATIONS BUILT A CULTURE. I think our wise forefathers conceived it as a concerted strategy, that through

celebration of these little values they would build a culture which would ultimately result in a lasting legacy. It was not culture that built the act of celebrations. It was celebrations of

what you valued and what you held dear to your heart that built the culture. Celebrations made you feel cared for, it helped you validate your own existence.  FOURTH, CELEBRATIONS WERE

DESIGNED TO CLEANSE THE SYSTEM. When the celebrations took place, the entire ecosystem celebrated. The family celebrated. The village celebrated. Sometimes people from neighbouring villages

walked miles to take part in the celebrations. The deities and temples that they worshipped would have been decorated to honour those everyday victories. If the village was very far, then

emissaries and messengers bearing the congratulations of celebrations were dispatched. The celebrations were so designed that the village would perhaps forget their little disputes and renew

their social relationships. Perhaps during this merriment between villages, more alliances were formed which led to more celebrations. I am sure sometimes brawls did break out too!  FIFTH,

THE CELEBRATIONS ALSO ACTED AS A COOLING PERIOD FOR THE PEOPLE WHO WERE BEING CELEBRATED.  I think our forefathers recognised that the celebrations acted in virtuous upward cycles. In the

celebration the mistakes were deliberately assigned a back seat, but those cuts and bruises were reminder enough that they needed to learn a new trick. The masters of the craft would reach

out to the novices and teach them new tricks of the trade. Now that the body was no longer focusing on “feeling miserable”, the brain would send out resources to accelerate the healing of

the physical tears, strains, twists and fractures of the body, while cooling the mental response system of the hunters or the people who were being celebrated. The brain would perhaps get

more time to register hunting skills in their long-term memory centers. This set off a virtuous response. They were ready to go back to the hunt twelve hours later.  The tradition of

celebration would carry on for thousands of years. Almost always with food, drink, religiosity and a sense of personal achievement.  Sadly, this tradition of celebration is dying.  Of

course, we celebrate festivals. We even celebrate milestones that took place decades ago. But the spirit has changed.  THE FIRST ARGUMENT IS ABOUT, TIME.  Our forefathers, who invented the

concept of celebrations, were a lot busier that us (hunt or starve and no convenience store to buy meat and pulses); had more issues (a gash meant a lost limb and flu meant death); lesser

facilities (walk to work and be killed by an unfriendly wolf); had to finish work before sunset (remember no electricity). If we today get bored looking at a television, imagine how it would

have been to look at a circle full of bored men and women, sitting around a fire.  Once they came home, the men from the hunt and women from gathering, their work day was not over. They had

to do everything themselves. Dispose their own garbage, pull their own teeth, stitch and mend their own leather boots, tend to their horses and hunting dogs, sharpen their own tools.  They

made the time to celebrate. So the argument that they had more time is open to debate.  Celebrations were spontaneous. We wait to be told to celebrate but readily complain about what is

going wrong. We didn't do well a few weeks back. We were pitching to a business for an employee engagement survey. A leader went on and on about how they have lots of schemes but the

senior leaders were being jerks and that they were the ones spoiling the culture. A colleague of mine asked him, “You have such a nice and big office, and your organisation is doing so well,

why don’t you have any posters celebrating some achievements (visual management is the technical term)?” The leader looked around and could not find even one congratulatory poster. I am

rather certain that if I asked him when was the last time he celebrated something, I would have not been able to write this column due to knuckle fractures.  But that leads to the next

problem.    _THE APPLAUSE IS A CELEBRATION NOT ONLY OF THE ACTORS BUT ALSO OF THE AUDIENCE. IT CONSTITUTES A SHARED MOMENT OF DELIGHT— JOHN CHARLES POLANYI_ We overthink celebrations. We

keep analysing, if something is worth celebrating. Sometimes we wonder if we are setting low benchmarks if we celebrated every little thing. My submission is that you should celebrate

learning and not just winning. Celebrate the strengths that you showed. In the celebrations recognise the strengths that could have been shown. Celebrate the hope of progress.  Sometimes we

rationalise celebrations by fairness. If I celebrate one person's achievement, I would have to celebrate everyone’s achievement.  My guidance to leaders is simple. If the mere thought

of celebration comes to your head, the decision is the simple but irritatingly accurate articulation by Nike, JUST DO IT. Overthinking celebrations ruins the spontaneity.  Some even think

that celebrating with the enemy makes you look weaker. Well, that is a hot topic on which many books will be written. Maybe we do need some new thinking about honour system, about whether

the war stops at the battlefield or the market place.  Then the next issue that comes up with is… CELEBRATION IS EQUATED WITH “EXPENSIVENESS”.  More the money spent indicates, “more” the

importance of the occasion. I used to work in FedEx, where there were many monetary award systems. The most important award any marketer wanted to win was the Marketeer of the Year, where

the entire marketing function would vote. The prize was a certificate and a bottle of champagne. No money and no exotic locales could surpass the personal recognition that your peers, across

many countries and across levels, held you in the highest esteem. People would nominate their winner and write a meaningful note about why they thought that person deserved to be the

winner. Sometimes the award was delivered through a multi-country conference call and the winners and the comments of their peers would be read out. You would hear the explosion of applause

through the conference call.     In my humble opinion, the higher the recognition, the lesser the money, but make sure that it is the highest in emotion thought and regard.  You can even

plan a tiny celebration for colleagues, to show that you care for them. If you have a team lunch then make sure you notice someone who is doing something right and voice your appreciation

during the lunch. One of the most cherished appreciation people get are handwritten thank you notes.  Which leads me rather neatly to the perils of modern day technology.  Celebrations start

and end with a terse reply all email, an emoticon on Whatsapp, a reply or a retweet and a like or comment on Facebook.   _PEOPLE OF OUR TIME ARE LOSING THE POWER OF CELEBRATION. INSTEAD OF

CELEBRATING WE SEEK TO BE AMUSED OR ENTERTAINED. CELEBRATION IS AN ACTIVE STATE, AN ACT OF EXPRESSING REVERENCE OR APPRECIATION. TO BE ENTERTAINED IS A PASSIVE STATE, IT IS TO RECEIVE

PLEASURE AFFORDED BY AN AMUSING ACT OR A SPECTACLE... CELEBRATION IS A CONFRONTATION, GIVING ATTENTION TO THE TRANSCENDENT MEANING OF ONE'S ACTIONS— THE WISDOM OF HESCHEL BY ABRAHAM

JOSHUA HESCHEL_ Its time to make celebrations a part of our mainstream everyday life. Political correctness notwithstanding, nothing connotes celebration like a big warm hug and a big hug,

preferably by a loud cheer. Use the technology available to you. Write an email, but then make sure that you are writing at least 30-50 words in the email describing how the person truly

deserves the award. If you are sending a Whatsapp message, be spontaneous, be joyous, make sure your joy comes through in the message.  In the last fifteen months that I have been an

entrepreneur, good news is tough to come by. If there is one thing that I have learned about being an entrepreneur is that you have to provide your own celebration. You provide it for the

people who work, directly and indirectly, for you.  Sometimes I borrow celebrations and participate by celebrating with others over a coffee. Sometimes just meeting friends for a coffee is a

celebration. I find something to celebrate after every rejection for the fact that I learned something about myself that I never knew I possessed. If you can find it in you to celebrate

your own self, it becomes very easy to find reasons to celebrate it in others.  Sometimes celebration comes in strange ways. A few weeks back, a very important course in Positivity and

Positive Psychology was announced, to be held in Canada. The fees were very prohibitive. I did some enquiries but declined to do the course because my cash flow did not permit the expense.

The course instructor, someone really senior in this arena, got to know and sent a message to me on Facebook offering me a rather generous scholarship. This came out of nowhere. Someone who

did not know me, someone very renowned, reached out to me. His offer to help itself was a cause of celebration and gratitude.  Therefore on this Monday morning, I want to urge you, to make

celebration a part of your life. Not just plain recognition. When participating in someone’s celebration, show up with genuine care rather than just passively standing in the corner.  _IN MY

HOUSEHOLD THERE IS AN INSANE AMOUNT OF LAUGHTER AND CELEBRATION— EDIE FALCO_ CELEBRATIONS SHOULD START FROM HOME. I know of couples who are increasingly planning weekday date nights as a

way of keeping their relationship fresh. Just as you would love to do when you date someone new. Why should you go to the same old restaurant just because there is a legal relationship with

your partner? Make sure you tell them why they are special to you. Do not stop at the simple, "You are special." Remind them why they are. CHANGE THE DIMENSION FROM FAREWELLS TO

WELCOMES. Maybe add another dimension to your celebrations. Many of us throw farewell parties for people who are leaving. Maybe you should try throwing a welcome party for someone who has

joined your team. It could be someone at your level, someone lower or maybe even senior to you. Try and be really bold this week. Ask them out for a coffee with a couple of your colleagues.

Get to know the person who has joined your team. Help your new joinee get to know everyone.  Celebrations have a way of connecting people like nothing else can. Celebrating the small things

in life have a way of widening your perspective and increase your empathy towards others and enhancing your learning from others.  Lets makes sure we use this to solve the problems of the

world.  _The author is the Founder of The Positivity Company. This is part of a series called 'Positive Mondays' which describes how positivity has a multiplicative effect,

simultaneously impacting all work and life outcomes._