Celebrate Your Wins
I’ve spent most of my jobs moving through endless to-do lists, a constant stream of strategic priorities and goals, and GSDing (aka Getting Sh*t Done) in order to be successful in my career. It’s worked. It’s gotten me to where I am today.
And yet, I realized recently what was missing…
Slowing down. Reflecting on what I was proud of in terms of my accomplishments. How Acknowledging the challenges that I didn’t think I could handle. Celebrating not only the “what” but the “why” and “how.”
When I reflect back on past jobs I’ve had, I rarely had a deliberate practice of celebrating and recognizing myself for the hard work I finished. There seemed to be this rushed feeling of “on to the next one…” and soon I was in a tailspin of what was ahead of me. My anxiety of the future state left me defeated, exhausted, and stuck in a cycle of never being present.
I committed to myself that this time around, I was going to take the time to actually write down my wins, celebrate, and share these accomplishments with others who cheer me on. It has helped tremendously to fight against the feeling of being in the rat race (that many of us often begrudgingly participate in). Here are some ways I’ve celebrated and rewarded my own wins recently; hope some of these spark some ideas of your own!
I capture my wins from the week prior on a continuous Google doc and update it on Sundays. It’s a great “look back” and also gets me to “look forward” to the week ahead.
I meet with my accountability buddy Heather each week; our weekly agenda includes sharing our wins from the week prior and congratulating each other with a “Whoo hoo!”
I determine which goals for the upcoming week deserve a reward due to how challenging it may be, or how much energy it may take; and then I write down a reward that fits the challenge. For a smaller challenge like designing one module for a workshop, I’d buy myself some donuts at my fave local spot. But for a larger challenge like signing my first contract as CEO of my own company (!), I’d reward myself with an overnight trip somewhere in nature.
Coach Cruz’s Corner:
How do you celebrate your wins?
And if you don’t currently practice this, what’s one way you will integrate this into your own life?
