Give Yourself a Round of Applause!

The word that has come up a lot this week is “celebrate”.  Specifically, celebrate you. 

On a scale of 1 to 10, how often do you give yourself praise? If you gave yourself a lower score, read on, my fellow non-self-appreciators!  

As a type A personality, I find that congratulating myself is very hard to do. So, several years ago, I decided to make a conscious effort.  Here’s why:

• Because I finish one thing and want to immediately just move onto the next. I rarely stop to see what I’ve done or congratulate myself on how far I have come.
• I am focusing on what isn’t working so I can keep improving and accomplishing more.   
• I become frustrated as I become impatient and want to move things forward faster.

Because of this, I miss what I have achieved.  But, here’s the important part – sometimes the most meaningful accomplishments aren’t in completing what is on my to-do list, but rather what I am learning about myself or how I am growing in different ways that contribute to my work, my life, and my meaning. 

This is where self-accolades come in.  These are ways to recognize not only your doing, but your being.  It is an opportunity to show how far you have come and how you are contributing to the world. 

Here are some ideas for you:

• Every day jot down a couple things that you are proud of from the day before.
• Keep a celebration calendar to write down any insights, accomplishments, or growth you recognize.  It is amazing to look back and see just how far I have come.  It also provides a reminder on my less energetic or down days.  Click HERE for a copy of your own celebration calendar.
• After an activity, meeting or interaction, ask yourself – What did I do that was good here?  What did I learn that will help me in the future?
• Write yourself a congratulations or thank you note.
• Give yourself a mental toast.  Cheers to you!
• Read my previous blog: 7 Questions to Create Self-Thankfulness

You get the idea. 

Providing self-accolades helps you to be more motivated, more inspired and provides confidence for your future activities.  For me, it allows time to pause and not overlook what I am doing, but see where I have been and where I want to go next that fulfills a purpose.   It seems appropriate to say this here: I just wrote another blog.  Congratulations to me! 

Authors note: While I use many tools to help me throughout my day, this blog was not written with AI.  Here I have decided to embrace the spirit of my creativity and authenticity.