Celebrate success along the way. My aunt died unexpectedly, and I was so challenged by it all that when her friend suggested that a group of us get together to talk about her, it all seemed a little too much for me, and I found myself asking the questions:
- Why on earth would we want to do that?
- Wouldn’t it all be about rehashing painful memories?
The other voice in my head reminded me that I could always go there and then leave if it was too much, so off I went with not so positive (I don’t like the word negative) expectations.
I arrived late, and everyone was already in the throws of conversation, and none of it was about death! I gathered a plate of food, let go of my inhibitions and joined in and I am glad that I did.
Now you are probably wondering what does my aunt’s death, and her friend’s get together have to do with you or your business. It turns out plenty!
Here is just some of what I received from a few hours in the company of people with a common goal.
I felt energised. I had an opportunity to pause in the midst of the grief to reflect and see another perspective. There is something powerfully motivating about celebrating something. In this instance, it was my aunt’s life, but it so easily could have been other things. I left with an extra pep in my step!
I felt connected. There is something about being part of a bigger picture/movement that helps you to appreciate your journey and the people on it with you.
I felt full. No, it had nothing to do with the food (although that was delicious) I laughed a lot which helped to add a sense of peace and joy to the journey. My aunt was still dead, but it was somehow ok.
I felt listened to. There was no structure to the gathering, but we all had an opportunity to share our stories.
I was entertained. An evening of fun and frivolity is always going to do wonders for your soul.
In business (as in life) we are often so focused
Focused on moving forward, delivering on business objectives, overcoming obstacles that could trip us up and slow us down, striving towards those goals (SMART ones of course), etc. that we forget to acknowledge the small successes along the way, in fact, we often barely even notice them.
Success comes in incremental milestone, and I think our job should be to set and look for these milestones along the way. I wonder if, in our busy lives, we scheduled a few minutes each day for celebrating what we have achieved if this would keep our motivation levels up.
Think about it when you go to a sporting event you don’t wait until the game ends to cheer for your team; you cheer and celebrate the successes along the way irrespective of the outcome. You instinctively know that by doing this you don’t just build momentum for your team and give them the encouragement to keep going (you even do this when you are sitting on the sofa watching them on TV); you know that it makes you feel good too.
Where’s the ROI?
I’m sure if you are thinking business right now you are asking this question and the truth is I wouldn’t even know where to start to quantify the ROI. But I do know that if you have ever experienced just how good celebrating success makes you feel and how much it drives you to do more, I think you’ll agree that scheduling time to celebrate is empowering and enjoyable, and it might even help you reach your goals and targets faster.
Maybe we should coin a phrase: A celebration a day keeps the demotivating gremlins away
