Whitney A. White is CEO & founder of Afara Global and creator of the transformational coaching program, Take Back Your Time.
Achieving anything big requires taking the long view. Luckily, virtually any daunting goal can seem a lot more manageable when you break it up into discrete milestones, chunks and tasks that you can cross off your to-do list.
I’ve found that breaking the big picture down doesn’t only help you to get your arms around seemingly impossible goals; it also gives you room and reason to celebrate along the way of the journey. And that’s crucial because without some time for celebration and taking stock of your progress, the journey of entrepreneurship can be a grim one.
High-achieving people tend to set high expectations for themselves whenever they begin a new endeavor—whether it’s starting a new business or taking on a new hobby. It can be tempting to focus on a big, shiny end result instead of the smaller steps along the way. While holding a great vision can be helpful when going into a new venture, it can also distract from the important victories you need to maintain momentum.
Here are some ways to celebrate every step of your entrepreneurial journey.
1. Track Your Small Victories
Smaller victories are often unseen by the public eye. It can be as simple as getting an email response from a potential collaborator or completing an offering guide for your products or services. But even though this is tangible progress, entrepreneurs can often turn these wins into automatic defeats. By staying in the mindset of things never being good enough, moving the goalposts or moving on to the next goal too quickly, you rob yourself of the chance to celebrate and build on what you have achieved.
2. Take Time To Celebrate
Celebration doesn’t have to be huge either. As tempting as it may be to book a trip to Rome every time you make a sale, simply making a cup of tea for some well-deserved quiet time or treating yourself to a solo dance party can be enough to keep the good vibes going. Ten or fifteen minutes can be plenty enough time to give yourself that needed boost. And if you want to have a bigger celebration? More power to you.
3. Feed Your Momentum
When you choose to celebrate and reward yourself for the effort you are putting into your business, you keep your momentum going. Acknowledge and recognize everything that is going right in your business. With that reflection, you can lean into strategies that are working while adjusting what may need to be improved.
By celebrating what is actually working, returning to a learning mindset when things don’t work becomes easier and easier. Keeping the focus on learning opportunities expands your curiosity both as a business owner and as a human, making it possible for you to learn and grow to heights you may not have previously believed possible.
So, celebrate your small wins. Turn on some music and let the universe know that your successful sale, new client or well-received email campaign is a victory. When you’re in that energy, anything is possible for you and your business, and you’re well on your way to creating a business—and a life—that you don’t need a vacation from.
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