Celebrate!
What? What now? What have I done to celebrate?
Well, possibly you actually reached a goal, after getting prodded along by me. Or prodding yourself. Chances are, you did. And that deserves a celebration!
Actually, there is a reason behind this. It is important that you get that feeling of accomplishment.
I hear you say: “But I haven’t earned it. What I did was nothing! I set a teeny tiny baby goal, and a baby could have done this! I don’t deserve to celebrate such a measely thing.”
This is important. If you have resistance to seeing what you accomplish – even if it’s small – then you are holding yourself back. Why would you struggle to do something if there’s no reward? Maybe you have learned that as kid. Got good grades? Hey, yes, it was expected of you, nothing special. Did your chores well and on time, even if it cost you? Well, you did what was expected, no need for a pat on the back.
And so you learned not to value what you accomplish. In fact, you probably learned to avoid getting things done, because then the very next thing would be loaded on your shoulders. Does this sound familiar: “Oh, you finished your homework already? Good, then you can go and mow the lawn / do the dishes / take out the trash / and on and on.”
It’s even more important now that you celebrate reaching your goal. Even if it was teeny tiny. You got there. You did it. And now, you give yourself a pat on the back for it, and some extra time with your favorite novel or a little break to soak up a bit of sun. Do something that feels good.
And if that still feels wrong, well, there’s EFT:
KP: Even though it doesn’t feel right to celebrate, after all, I haven’t done anything great, I’m okay the way I am and open to the possibility that.
Even though I don’t think I even deserve to celebrate, I didn’t do anything special, I’m okay the way I am and open to the possibility that it might be okay to give myself a pat on the back.
Even though I have learned not to celebrate anything because it only meant I got more work, I’m okay the way I am and open to the possibility that I can now choose how much I work in my life.
IE: I can’t celebrate!
OE: It doesn’t feel right.
UE: I didn’t do anything special.
UN: I just reached a teeny tiny goal.
CP: Nothing special.
CB: There’s more stuff to do.
UA: Celebrating feels wrong.
AW: Celebrating feels dangerous!
Take a deep breath!
IE: I never learned how to celebrate even small steps.
OE: The whole concept feels weird.
UE: I never celebrated anything I did.
UN: After all, it’s just what I do.
CP: I just move on to the next thing.
CB: But maybe it’s just something I never learned.
UA: Maybe it could be fun to celebrate even little steps.
AW: I don’t need a huge party, but a pat on the back is nice.
Take a deep breath!
IE: Maybe I can allow myself to celebrate a little.
OE: Maybe it’s okay to acknowledge a success, even if it’s small.
UE: Maybe I can give myself a pat on the back, or a little more.
UN: Maybe it could even be fun, and feel good.
CP: I choose to celebrate this little goal, just as an experiment.
CB: And if I like how it feels, well, I can do it again.
UA: Even though it goes against what I learned.
AW: But maybe it’s time to unlearn a bad habit.
Take a deep breath!
IE: And it is a bad habit to ignore my successes!
OE: I learned that as a kid.
UE: But maybe I just learned a bad habit.
UN: I now choose to celebrate my successes!
CP: And I choose to try out different rewards.
CB: This could really be fun.
UA: I like the idea of celebrating my successes.
AW: And this feels much better already.
Take a deep breath!
There you go! What did you choose as reward? How will you celebrate reaching your goals?
Image (c) Frauke Möbius