Stop and Celebrate

“Success is to be measured

not so much by the position

that one has reached in life

as by the obstacles which

he has overcome.”

-Booker T. Washington

How do you go about achieving success?  What is your attack plan? What has worked in the past to get you to where you are today whether it be in regards to your career, your health, your education, your personal life, financial stability, anything?

Believe it or not, people are more apt to deem themselves a success if the road wasn’t to their liking, if they had to make a conscious decision for an extended period of time that the time they were putting in was worth it.  The good news in this is that they are also more likely to appreciate and not ruin the pinnacle they have arrived at.  A perfect example is someone who wins the lottery – Megabucks for example.  Due to the fact that the only effort applied was purchasing a ticket, the leverage that this money could be used for is often frittered away because it wasn’t expected in the first place.

But due to the fact of what Booker T. Washington alludes to, you are going to have to find ways to re-energize yourself, ways to pick yourself up and resolve to continue to go forward even when it seems all you are running into are road blocks.  No matter what other tactics you use to accomplish your goals, one important step in your process must be celebrating when you’ve reached a mini goal that is a vital stepping stone to the end result.

Now to some this may seem simple, but to others it may seem frivolous and unnecessary. The latter more often than not will nonchalantly shake off an opportunity to celebrate while in the midst of proceeding toward their intended target because in their minds they see so much more they could be doing and don’t want to waste the time to celebrate.  It is almost as though they believe that they will lose their momentum.  I am here to argue that the opposite is actual true.

How many New Year’s resolutions have you made in your life? How many have you succeeded at?  How many times have you set out to accomplish something and achieved it on the first attempt? I genuinely doubt that anyone has a 100% success rate, and I will immediately follow up by saying – that’s to be expected.  That is precisely why you MUST celebrate when you do hit the mark.

I can almost guarantee that along the way to the goal you are trying to achieve at this moment, you will have a stumbling block, you will miss one, or maybe two, of your mini goals, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be successful.  I am an avid believer that the only real failure is refusing to learn from the fall, and as long as you get back up, and stride forward, maybe in a slightly different way, in a slightly different direction, you have only grown, thus making you even stronger and more capable of achieving your goal.

So with that said, celebrate when you do succeed.  There is great value in reveling in victories because it provides the fuel, the motivation, even more momentum, to set the next goal – to have the energy to keep pushing forward to continue your healthy habits, frugality, your dedication at work – whatever it may be.

And in your celebration, make sure it supports your goal.  For example, if you recently decreased your BMI due to the fitness and diet program you are on, don’t consume a double cheeseburger, fries and a shake.  Instead, purchase the pair of Jimmy Choos you’ve had your eye on, or better yet, a pair of figure flattering jeans.  In other words, choose a way of patting yourself on the back that doesn’t cause you to take a step back.


And remember, by achieving a goal, you’ve done what few people have been able to do, persevere through obstacles, barriers, and distractions and stayed focused on the task at hand.  Bravo to you. There is no greater adrenaline rush of confidence than what you feel upon accomplishing something that has taken your blood, tears and precious time.  Not only has your confidence been boosted, but your self-worth as well, and you are the one responsible. So celebrate, and don’t feel guilty in doing so – you’ve earned it.

Images: (1) Sebastian (2) LASHES (3) Flights of Fancy (4) We Heart It (5) We Heart It

Celebrate!

Friday has arrived and with it hopefully a feeling of contentment as we reflect back on all that was accomplished. Whether it be  having worked out almost as much as we had planned on (and if this amount was exceeded, a HUGE high five is more than well-deserved!) or having wrapped up the latest project or completed a task before the deadline, or maybe some of us were finally able to get caught up enough so that we didn’t feel guilty for taking some time to enjoy ourselves with friends/co-workers outside of the office, or maybe we were simply able to, at last, carve out some time to take a moment for ourselves.  Whatever your success was this week, congratulate yourself. 

No matter how big or small the victory, we too often are overly critical of what we could have done better, when what we need to do  is appreciate what was done well, and I know we all did that this week, even if we have to take a good, close look.

Often times though, despite how successful the week may have been, I find myself needing to take Friday down a notch and save up my energy for going out on Saturday. 

One of my favorite cookie recipes to enjoy with a cold glass of milk (an overused cliche, I know!) on a cuddly Friday night  when I’m low on energy, but feel a little sweet tooth coming on is a recipe I found in a magazine too many years ago.  Five ingredients and twenty minutes later, you have what I like to compare to a Reese’s pieces cookie.  Delicious . . . seriously lovely to the tastebuds.  And the good news is that it only makes twelve cookies ,and it doesn’t require you to lug out the Kitchen-Aid mixer.

Ingredients:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together:

*1 cup brown sugar

*1 cup Adams Crunchy peanut butter

*1 tsp baking soda

*1 egg

Then add:

*1/2 cup Ghirardelli’s milk chocolate chips

Mix together, then place on a cookie sheet and bake for 9 minutes. Upon removing them from the oven, they won’t look done.  Trust me, they are!  Let them cool for about 15-20 minutes and then bite into the most delicious, moist, decadent cookies you ever whipped up in twenty minutes!

Here’s to what I hope you all can say on Monday was a fabulous weekend!  Cheers!