I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time celebrating my achievements. I have no problem celebrating other things: holidays, birthdays, good news, or a friend’s achievement.
I don’t think that I am alone here. My proof is that a lot of my clients and friends seem to have a hard time celebrating their achievements and successes. This discussion occurs a lot in our coaching sessions or in a casual conversation if I’m speaking with a friend.
Why is it so hard for us to celebrate our achievements? Let’s take a closer look. First, we recognize that we want something. Next, we set a goal. Then, we create a strategy to achieve that goal. We take the steps/do the work to achieve that goal. Then we achieve that goal and just like that we are on to the next thing. More likely than not, there is no fanfare that we achieved our goal. We just check the box and move on to the next item.
So back to my question, why is it so hard for us to celebrate our achievements? We wanted something, so we set a goal, we did the work and we achieved the goal. Isn’t that worthy of a celebration? I think that it is and I’m not the only one who does. In fact, celebration of an achievement is an International Coaching Federation (ICF) core competency. Celebration of achievement is so important that the ICF decided to codify it as a core competency.
If celebration of an achievement is good enough for the ICF, I think it is good enough for me.
Perhaps, we don’t need an answer to the question of why it is so hard for us to celebrate our achievements, instead, we should just do it. Let’s change our familiar behaviors and celebrate!! Our hard work deserves a reward. Let’s acknowledge our achievements and reward ourselves.
I’m committing to making a change in my behavior. What about you? I’m going to start celebrating my achievements and successes. Over my life time, I have set a lot of goals, I have worked hard to achieve the goals, and I have set more goals. I’m going to take a pause and savor my successes. My successes are worthy of my celebration and so are yours.
We live in difficult times, and sometimes the greatest achievement is just getting out of bed in the morning, and that is okay. My advice to you is to reframe your thinking and savor your accomplishments. After all, you were the one who made the decision to set the goal. Why not enjoy the reward?
Will you join me in changing your thinking about celebrating your achievements? We are meant to enjoy our lives, so let’s do just that.
