Celebrate

Twenty-three. There are twenty-three significant wins I’ve had in 2021. Some are small, personal accomplishments. Others are goals achieved. A couple were new learnings and there’s a smattering of progress points. None of which were really on the top of my mind until I took the time to make the list and created space to jog my memory.

Chances are you’re an achiever who expects to get a lot done and once a task or goal is completed, you move on to the next thing. It’s important to capture what went well AND celebrate all that you’ve accomplished in ’21 so that you set the foundation for ongoing success in the new year.

Acknowledging you attempted or completed something you’ve never done before, or that you accomplished it at a higher level than you ever have before, sends a signal to the brain that you’ve attained next level growth. And the brain keeps track. Your subconscious mind runs your life. It captures what you’ve seen, experienced, and felt so far so it can guide you on what to pay attention to or avoid. Recognizing you’ve done something different or better, or that you have a
different emotion attached to an outcome puts the brain on alert that a new path is emerging. Acknowledgement says you are now here, you are now performing on a different level.

Celebrating locks it all in. It tells the subconscious mind you scored a win, what you’ve done is possible, and from there you can go to new heights. Celebration includes sharing your wins with others, doing something nice for yourself, having a special experience with the family, buying an item that symbolizes the next stage of growth that was achieved.

As we wrap up 2021, I encourage you to carve out 30 minutes and capture what went well throughout the year. Do a free flow of thought dump. Think about personal accomplishments, professional achievements, projects completed, what was started, what was learned, what was
hard but had a good outcome, what’s still in progress but you can see you’re in a different place than when you started.

Once you have your list, share is with someone in its entirety, and determine how you’re going to celebrate all the gifts of 2021. It will set you up for even greater success in the new year. This is also a great team exercise, just sayin’.