As a purpose-driven woman, one with a vision to positively impact the lives of others in my work, I like many of you, suck at celebrating my successes.  Let’s face it, many of us have no modeling or training in how to do this so the notion of celebrating our success can feel self-absorbed, silly, or worse, braggadocious.  It is a habit I am growing into and one I intentionally have to pursue so I can authentically encourage my clients to do the same. I’ve learned that patting myself on the back when I achieve something great or small matters to my soul, to my self-image, and to my service. Furthermore, I’ve found that celebration breeds more success and adds to the satisfaction I experience in accomplishing my goals.

When you go from goal to goal, project to project, without taking the time to stop and cheer yourself on., you lose out on giving yourself a boost in serotonin and dopamine ( the “happy hormones”), you miss the many moments of your wins, and when trials come as they surely will, you have no margin to draw from within you because you have not allowed yourself to be your own best champion. In short, not celebrating your successes hurts so finding ways to do so not only makes sense but is the self-caring, loving way to honor your achievements.

Here are ten truths I’ve uncovered from my own experience and in my work with ambitious women who desire to make a greater impact in their career or business endeavor. After you review them and start to make them a part of your practice, you will start to reap the power of celebration so that you are spurred on to even greater heights!

1.     Find a way to celebrate that excites you so much that it truly motivates you to achieve your goal. For me, treating myself to a gift I’ve wanted but felt too guilty to indulge in is so motivating that it assuages any guilt I feel because now I have a perfect excuse for indulgence. My latest thrill is buying pieces of art to mark new achievements. I love art but never really invested in it. Now I have an “excuse” to do so and I’m loving it!

 2.     Celebrate the small wins along the way too. Very often the big wins are only accomplished by the small achievements so it is important to honor those too. Most of the time, your acknowledgment will not be on a grand scale. Sometimes just doing a private victory dance is enough for your brain to get the message. The treat does not matter to anyone else but you, so do you friend!  

3.     Mark your progress towards your goal with a reward.  Your goal achievement carries with it all the hard work, commitment, and dedication you put into it and these deserve to be recognized too.  Celebrate the fact that you are getting closer to your end goal, and that you are on track to achieve it.

4.     Be strategic in planning for the celebration of your wins. When you have a major project or task to complete, brainstorm the type of incentive that would help you more easily accomplish the goal. This increases the likelihood that you will have the success you want.   

5.     Use Visioning to see yourself achieving your goal, reaching that milestone, or performing that special task with excellence. As part of your visioning, imagine how you’d like to celebrate when you are successful—who are you celebrating with, what are you doing, how are you feeling, where are you celebrating? With the vision clear, you can then plan your celebration before you even begin, as a motivator. Read my post The Power Of Visualization in Goal Setting, for tips on how to do this well. 

Tune in next week for the remaining five truths in Part 2 of this post. You’re not going to want to miss this. In the meantime, take a moment to acknowledge a recent win you achieved. Your heart and soul will thank you for it.