Celebrate Progress!
You're now up and running with your new venture. You began by thinking small, getting started, and continuing to move forward as you overcame obstacles and solved problems. The temptation now is to focus on all that still needs to be done. You know you still have a long way to go. All that needs to be done and the distance you still have to go can begin to weigh you down...get you down. But step back for a moment. Take a look at how far you have come. Look at how much progress you have made. Celebrate your progress! Here are four benefits of celebrating your progress.
BENEFIT #1: You Will Feel Better
When we start off with a new venture, project, task, or goal there is much excitement in the beginning. This excitement is strengthening. It empowers us to get started and keep moving. However, the obstacles and problems begin to zap this initial wave of excitement and strength. Reality begins to set in. We realize what we have started will not be easy. It will require greater amounts of time than we expected, larger amounts of energy, and growing amounts of obstacles to overcome and problems to solve. This realization reduces our energy and steals our excitement. This is when we need to step back and celebrate our progress by looking at how far we have come and seeing how much we have done. As we do this, we will begin to feel better. So go ahead, take some time to celebrate. You have done a great job! You have come a long way!
BENEFIT #2: You Will Find You Have Grown
When we initially started out, and as we moved forward, there was so much we did not know. We had so many unanswered questions and unsolved problems. But one step at a time, one day at a time, we began finding answers to those questions and solutions to those problems. As a result, we learned. We educated ourselves. We grew smarter and stronger. So take so time to celebrate. You have grown! The book of Proverbs tells us that a wise man adds to his learning. You have added to your learning!
BENEFIT #3: You Will Free Your Mind
Swirling around in our minds are all the problems to be solved, obstacles to overcome, assignments to be completed, and tasks waiting to be done. These clog and clutter our minds. This mind clog brought on by all the clutter of how far we still have to go and how much still needing to be done suppresses our creativity and paralyzes our ability to get much of anything done. Once we begin to celebrate our progress, our minds will begin to be unclogged and uncluttered. Fresh ideas come. The ability to think through an issue returns. As our minds are freed, we will find the mental peace to keep moving forward. So take some time to forget about all that needs to be done. Give your mind a rest by celebrating how much has already been done.
BENEFIT #4: You Will Focus On What Is Next
When we started, we thought small. We decided what needed to be done first and we did it. Then we moved on to what was second and third. But soon, we found with the progress we made there was so much more needing to be done. At first, it was like a small snowball rolling down a hill. After it started rolling down the hill, it became larger and larger...bigger and bigger! You have discovered the same thing. What started with a small step has become larger and larger...bigger and bigger...more and more! However, when we take a step back to celebrate the progress, we tend to be refreshed and refocused on the next small step needing to be done. We will never be able to get everything done. There will always be more to do. But as we focus on what has been done, celebrate it, then we will be able to focus on the next task we need to do...that one next task.
Take some time today, this week, to celebrate your progress. You have come such a long way. You have done so much.
Congratulations!
