Celebrate Your Accomplishments

and life's milestones

“It is crucial to recognize, reward, and celebrate accomplishments.” ~ Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Dogs know that life is short, and that you have to celebrate as much as possible. There’s no sense putting off something special to some other time, because that time may never come. It’s good to set goals, but equally important to enjoy the milestones.

Ella

I loved to celebrate. Mom was great at rewarding me when I did tricks, or when I was a “good dog,” and also to celebrate milestones. Because I was found on the streets, my actual date of birth was unknown. I had an estimated birthday, but we usually would celebrate the entire month of January to cover our bases. Mom also celebrated her entire birthday month. We both loved birthdays! I loved them because I knew I would get special treats, we would do fun things, and I would receive extra attention. Mom knew the importance of appreciating each trip around the sun, since she almost died when she was 31 years old. Every day after that was a gift, and she made a big deal about birthdays. I certainly was on board with that, because I loved being doted upon.

If you haven’t already figured it out, I was one smart cookie. I knew what I needed to do to get praise. I was quick to run through the litany of tricks that I knew to get my treat. I enjoyed being around people, and was extra friendly so that they would pet me. I also knew when I was going to get in trouble for something, so I would grin extra hard at mom in the hopes that I could win her over, and she’d brush off whatever I had done to make her mad.

The way that I hiked – with my sights on the summit, but taking time along the way to take in the views – was a good reminder to my parents that they should appreciate and recognize their accomplishments along the way to their ultimate goals. Celebrating when you achieve your goal is great, but it’s just as important to notice and celebrate the milestones along the way. Who knows, your ultimate goal may change. Life is always throwing you curveballs, but each small step that you take is moving you forward.

When mom left her corporate job to start her own business, she had a hard time recognizing all of the small steps that she was accomplishing, because there was no one to give her a pat on the back except her. Mom can be really hard on herself, and have extra high expectations. Dad helped her to set up a system where she could visually see all of the progress that she was making, so that she would give herself the credit that she deserved. Setting big goals is great, but those are only achieved by taking one step at a time. When mom was coaching others in achieving their health and wellness goals, she was great at helping them break down the ultimate goal into actionable steps that could be taken every day. She sometimes forgot that the same applied to her.

The more you achieve the small steps, the more likely you’ll be motivated to keep going. Success begets more success. If you only care about the final destination, you might get frustrated at the time it takes to get there and lose your motivation. However, if you set incremental goals, and celebrate accomplishing them, your determination will grow, and before you know it, that thing that seemed so far off will finally be in sight.