Answer me honestly – when is the last time you purposely celebrated a success in your life?
Please say it wasn’t your High School graduation or your wedding!
I’m talking doing something great but often overlooked such as finishing a huge creative project, winning new business, achieving your goal weight or getting a new job.
Did you celebrate and take the time to give yourself a pat on the back or did you move on to the next thing without even taking a rest?
Worse still – did you beat yourself up that you could have done better?
A telling sign is that you find it difficult to take compliments. I once finished a HUGE client job (for the United Nations no less) under incredibly tight deadlines and long hours but took absolutely no pleasure in its completion. In fact, I never even looked at it again, just in case I found the spelling mistakes I was sure I had made.
I’m not alone. In fact, many women and clients I speak to have the same problem. A complete inability to celebrate ourselves and our achievements.
What’s the deal with that?
A Client Story
Amy from Dublin is an increasingly accomplished actor and playwright. She recently had a sell out one-woman show and she finished the first draft of her new play.
What did she do to celebrate? Nothing – she just went on to the next thing without a beat.
I asked her what she’d do to celebrate when she’s an award winning actress, living in different countries around the world and earning millions from acting.
She said she’d open a bottle of expensive champagne and go out with friends to a fancy restaurant.
I asked her what she could do now to really anchor that experience for the future, so she decided to open a bottle of sparkling wine and invite some friends over to celebrate. Her future self will thank her for sparking off this success ritual.
You see, if Amy doesn’t start celebrating her successes now, she may never take the time because she’ll always just move on to the next thing, no matter how big she gets.
Why is it so important?
Congratulating yourself for a job well done cements those good feelings firmly into the present. Success breeds success and the more “proof” you have that you are successful, the easier it will be to attract further good fortune.
Besides – it just feels good!
Shoes!
My dear mother always reminds me that I shouldn’t give advice if I’m not willing to do myself, so we were out shopping and I got a message that I just got a new coaching client. We were looking at shoes and I decided to buy these brown strappy ones as a celebration reward. I think I’m going to make it a habit so I have my eyes on these other sparkly ones too.
Rewards of shoes or clothes are a great motivator, especially if you know the exact shoes you want. Go and pine over them in a shop, take a photo to put on your dream board and when you achieve what you set out to do – GO AND BUY THEM! Oh, and don’t forget to wear them often and congratulate yourself again and again.
How would you like to celebrate?
So shoes and champagne might not do it for you. You need to find a reward that will completely motivate you.
If money is tight and you can’t celebrate in quite the style you’re willing to become accustomed to, where can you start? Buy a bottle of cheap champagne and as your successes grow, so can the quality of the bubbly!
Here are some other great ideas:
- Celebrate afternoon tea at a fancy hotel
- Get new professional photos taken
- Visit a personal shopper for a makeover
- Go to the movies by yourself
- Enjoy a single beautifully iced cupcake
- Get a piece of your jewelry engraved with a beautiful affirmation
- Get a professional blow dry
- Buy some flowers for yourself
- Relax with a massage or a facial
- Hike to the top of a mountain and fist pump the air when you get there
- Get yourself some personalised stationery
- Buy a special new pen and a beautiful crisp notebook
- Have a pampering day at a spa
- Invite friends around for dinner to help you celebrate
- Wear your best underwear
….. lastly, put your hand on your heart and affirm “I’m on my way”.
Every time?
Yes, every time you achieve something fabulous, you should celebrate.
It’s very VERY important. You don’t have to go crazy every time. Afterall, if I bought a pair of expensive shoes every time I got a new client, I wouldn’t make much profit and I’d have a LOT of shoes. (Actually that doesn’t sound too bad!).
Decide in advance how much of your income, salary, bonus or client payment is going to be solely to be spent on yourself. I think 10% is a nice even sum. This money cannot be spent on mundane things like such underwear (unless it’s gorgeous), personal care products that you’d buy anyway or something for your children, partner or friends.
That money is dedicated to pleasure and celebration. 10% isn’t too much to spend on yourself is it?
Get excited every time you achieve something. Make a story out of your success and others will recognize you too. You deserve it.
What’s the last thing you celebrated? What did you do?
Tagged as: denise duffield-thomas
