Celebrating the Small Successes We Have Along the Way to Our Goals
One issue that most people have is not celebrating and giving themselves praise and credit for the small achievements they have on their way to bigger goals. While a large goal may feel overwhelming, people are encouraged to break it down into small and manageable steps. The beauty of this way of thinking is that you can reduce stress and anxiety, as well as break things down in a way that makes them more palatable, and allows you to have victories each and every day, or week.
It is a shift in thinking, as many people only have a mindset to give themselves credit for achieving their ultimate goal. However, they do not realize that giving themselves credit for each and every step they complete towards their goal, actually keeps them motivated and working towards it.
People have a chance to feel successful and encouraged through all steps of the process, and this can have a profound impact on mood and motivation. When we know we are doing well, when we can see that we are making progress, we want to keep seeing that and feeling this way. In and of itself, it becomes self-motivating.
The main issue is to shift our thinking to allow ourselves to embrace the small things, to give ourselves credit, and realize that every little step we complete, is a necessary step towards our goal. That is we had not achieved each and every step, we would never be moving closer and closer to our ultimate goal.
A great way to keep the motivation and momentum going is to reward yourself for these small victories. It is a proven fact that a rewards system keeps people motivated to keep working on something.
Make a list of small and large rewards that are meaningful to you. Do not make them general, make them specific, personal, and things that will inspire and invigorate you. You should have small rewards that you can give yourself on a daily or weekly basis. So, these should not be something like a large purchase, or you would go broke on your way to your goal.
Then have larger rewards that you give yourself monthly, or at the completion of large chunks of the project you are working on. This keeps things consistently reinforcing, but spread out in a meaningful way.
Meaning, motivation, and acknowledgment to self can be the factors that keep you not only working towards, but make you achieve goals that once felt overwhelming. Breaking things down into smaller chunks makes them easier to manage, and rewarding yourself along the way makes it far more likely that you will stay motivated.
A key factor in achieving success is finding out what works for us. No one else can decide what is rewarding or motivating to us, only we can do that. We are all unique in what we find to be reinforcing, and it is not a cookie cutter situation. We need to pick the things that excite and have some meaning to us, as this will tie in a stronger sense of motivation and desire to achieve a step and receive that reward. Another important piece is the honor system.
By this, I mean, you have to truly complete a step BEFORE you give yourself a reward. You do not get it if you are close to achieving it or if you part way there. This defeats the purpose and the efficacy of rewards system. So just keep these few things in mind:
1) Set a Goal
2) Break it down into small and manageable steps
3) Come up with small and large rewards for progress markers along the way
4) Reward yourself when you complete that step
I think you will find this system motivating, and the outcome to be your ultimate success.
