Celebrating your achievements

The Importance of reviewing and celebrating.How often do you really celebrate what you’ve achieved? So often we work so hard towards achieving a goal, completing a project, raising our children or getting our house just the way we like it, but then we move on to the next thing we need to do, without really appreciating what we’ve achieved. In doing this, we take ourselves for granted, often worrying about the next task ahead, rather than being grateful and taking pleasure in what we’ve just done.

By reviewing our achievements and celebrating our successes we absorb how we’ve grown and recognise and consolidate the changes in our lives. It also helps to ground us and consider what’s important before setting new goals. Here’s some questions that can help you review the last year, answer from the heart, not what you think ‘looks good’ to others. Take a tea break and spend 15-40 minutes on the following exercise. What are YOU proud of? 1. What are your 5 proudest achievements in the last 12 months? 2. What were 5 challenges you overcame in the last year? 3. What 5 things did you learn this year? (skills, techniques, useful facts, lessons learned etc) 4. What 5 things did you learn about yourself? (strengths, weaknesses, positive or limiting beliefs, hopes & fears) 5. What did you create or bring into the world this year? 6. How did you make a difference in the world this year? (big or small) 7. Where did you have the most fun? 8. If you were to write a newspaper headline that summarised your year what would it say? Review your answers; what themes and patterns do you notice, what stands out most? What are you most proud of? Take a deep breath and really feel and celebrate all that you already are and are becoming. Recognise your achievement, how you learnt and grew. What can you do that would anchor the feeling of gratitude and pride in yourself and all that you have achieved? Maybe it’s a short sentence you could say to yourself every day, maybe it’s a small beautiful thing you buy yourself – a broach, a postcard, a magnet, that reminds you to celebrate and recognise your achievements. Commit to rewarding yourself and if physical, place it somewhere you can see it every day. Don’t forget! It’s important and symbolic and will help you recognise all your efforts, motivating you in future.