Who does not enjoy a good celebration? Celebrations are great, it’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s full of energy and laughter. We celebrate successes, big milestones and occasions e.g. Christmas, New Year etc. Celebrations are meant to show appreciations, a coming together to recognise and acknowledge achievements and goals reached. Apart of the “big” celebrations, we do celebrate enough? Do we acknowledge the “small” achievements? Do we acknowledge one another’s contribution? Do we recognise the person that helped “behind the scenes”? Do we celebrate enough? Have you thought about the “smaller” celebrations. Celebrations to acknowledge progress, out-of-the-box ideas and programs, team work for getting a tough campaign off the ground. Do we acknowledge and celebrate process and progress vs. just the end result? My feeling is that we don’t do enough of that.
I have noticed through my coaching journey that most people do not celebrate or acknowledge their own progress enough. By robbing yourself of that, we are robbing ourselves of an opportunity to recognise where we were to where we are now. Each of us would have reasons everyday to acknowledge something that we have progressed in even if its reading a chapter of a book. Why? When we are able to acknowledge our progress, we will see ourselves moving forward. Moving forward will give us a sense of accomplishment and that we are not standing still or not going anywhere. It’s the constant progression of moving forward that will lead us to where we want to go or what we want to achieve. No one achieves success without progressing forward everyday.
To celebrate and acknowledge progress would enable you to:
1. Reflect and recognise progress. Progress from step 1 to step 2 and so on. No one achieves Step 10 without going through Step 1 or Step 2 first. To recognise that will give you a sense of moving forward.
2. Builds confidence and reduces fear. As you acknowledge your progress, you are in the process of building confidence which will in turn reduce fear. You will be more and more confident in performing a certain task and achieving your goals. Self-confidence is an important component of how we feel about ourselves and in turn how others will treat you.
3. It makes it fun. We all need to have fun in the journey. Acknowledgement and celebrations makes it fun and worthwhile. It’s a tangible sign for your mind and emotions that you are moving in the right direction. Who does not like to celebrate by buying ourselves a little present every now and then.
4. It motivates us to continue and be bolder. As we acknowledge our progress, it will motivate us to move forward. Maybe even move forward move boldly and taking on more challenges.
Acknowledge yourself today. In fact everyday. Try it. Think about what you have done today, whether it’s completing a task, teaching your son how to ride a bicycle etc.. No matter how big or small. See how you feel. Think about what it motivates you to do next. Learn to acknowledge yourself for if you don’t, how then can you expect others to.
Lisa Lam : Coach | Trainer | Consultant 