Don't Miss a Step: Take Time to Celebrate!

The path of a goal, whether a goal set for your personal life or in the course of business, is generally seen as having four steps:

1. Assess the situation
2. Set goals for how you want it to be
3. Take steps to achieve the goals, and
4. Achieve the goals (completion).

After Step 4, many people return to Step 1 with the question: "OK, what's next?" And then it's on to Step 2 and 3 and 4 again.

Hold on. Stop right there.

... celebrating our strengths has the benefit of building our sense of self worth and confidence

There is actually a very important fifth step that many of us leave out. Step 5 is where we celebrate our achievements! After working hard to reach our goals, taking time to celebrate gives us the opportunity to:

Capture the learning.

When we take stock of what we've learned along the way to our goals, we are consciously integrating the learning and incorporate those lessons for use in the future.

Acknowledge our internal resources.

In achieving goals, we bring forth various internal resources, such as courage and persistence, to meet the challenges. To have others acknowledge us – and to give ourselves credit, as well – is deeply satisfying. Too often, we miss seeing these qualities in ourselves and others. Acknowledging and the power to call us forth to use them even more on future challenges.

Build a sense of unity.

Your team will feel more inclined to go the extra mile if given the opportunity to celebrate their achievements.

Nothing can bond people more than striving toward a common goal and then sharing in the joy of the achievement. If you don't stop to appreciate the people who helped make it happen, connection and goodwill will break down and the discretionary effort that could have been available in the future will evaporate. Your team will feel more inclined to go the extra mile if given the opportunity to celebrate their achievements.

Send a message to the Universe.

Stopping to savor and celebrate your successes sends the message out into the Universe that you know how to appreciate this success and that you are ready for more! The Law of attraction steps in and you and your team become magnetized for more success.

Have fun!

As Dr. John Medina points out in his book Brain Rules, fun is serious business. Knowing that you get to celebrate in a fun way after your goal is achieved is a great motivator. And both you and your team benefit from an added bonus in that fun, which is a powerfully positive emotion, stimulates your brain's ability to learn and integrate new knowledge. Self confidence builds to new highs. You've done a fantastic job—of course you want to be rewarded with some fun and enjoyment. You deserve it, so do it!

There are countless ways to celebrate and savor your successes, so add Step 5 and CELEBRATE. Whatever brings you a sense of joyous completion is the ticket. Be as creative and energized about it as you can!

Jean-Yves Lord
Y2 Consulting Psychologists