Confidence, Part 2
I have the wonderful gift of a monthly conference call with a small group of coaching colleagues. These women are from across the country and around the world. While that makes scheduling our monthly calls tricky, they are an incredible source of ideas, inspiration, and support.
This month, we planned to talk about our goals for 2015. One of the women provided some questions for reflection in advance of our call. Although I had set goals – and even had measurable objectives – I was surprised by two of the reflection questions. One asked about my successes in 2014. The other asked how I celebrated those successes.
The truth is, I hadn’t even thought about it. I’d considered what I wanted to leave behind in 2014 and then jumped right into 2015. And when I started writing down my accomplishments, it was interesting that my work-related successes were first and my personal successes were second.
Clearly, I needed to pause, take a breath, and literally put my priorities in order. And then I needed to take another breath and acknowledge and appreciate the many successes and accomplishments of last year. (I asked a friend to help me celebrate; we toasted 2014’s accomplishments in order of importance – relationships first, work second.)
Like most people, I can sometimes be quick to criticize myself for not getting everything on my to-do list done. And, like most people, I often fail to give myself credit for what I do accomplish.
That’s where confidence comes in. Every time we pause to consciously acknowledge our accomplishments – no matter how small – we are reminded of all that we do and all that we are capable of.
Don’t wait around for outside praise or validation from others. Maybe you’ll get it; maybe you won’t. It’s better just to be an adult and meet your own needs for acknowledgment and appreciation. And then, feel free to ask a friend to help you celebrate!
What can you give yourself credit for today? What successes and accomplishments from 2014 deserve your acknowledgement? And how will you celebrate?
Good for you – and party on!