Celebrating the Wins of 2017

So there’s something I suck at… well, okay, there’s a few things I suck at. But one of those things I suck at is celebrating my accomplishments when they happen. Despite (or maybe because of??) having a massive mindset shift in January 2016 about the journey being the reward, not the destinations along the journey, I still tend to hit a goal and then blow right by it, on to the next thing, without giving much notice at all to the fact I actually accomplished a goal toward which I’d been working for awhile.

You’re probably tired of hearing me talk about Michael Hyatt’s Best Year Ever course by now, but there’s a reason I talk about it so much. It’s because I loved it so much, and because it had such a big impact on my life.

And one of the things Michael harps upon in the course is that you must CELEBRATE YOUR WINS. This is a crucial part of reaching your goals, staying motivated, and achieving happiness.

And yet even still, I suck at this.

Since I was enrolled in the Best Year Ever course for 2017, and invested in the VIP level, I had access to a private Facebook group in which Michael himself was very active. At the end of 2017, he made a post in that group, calling upon all of his 2017 VIP students to take stock of the past year and and list their accomplishments achieved. He urged us to list our wins for the year, and then to go celebrate them.

I found myself a bit flabbergasted when I saw that post, because my mind blanked.

I had just spent 12 months in his Best Year Ever VIP coaching course… and couldn’t think of a single accomplishment for 2017!?!?!

That couldn’t be right. So I took the time to sit quietly and go back through the goals I had made at the beginning of 2017. As tends to happen, I realized I had accomplished quite a freakin’ lot of things in 2017, but most were not exactly aligned with the goals I had originally set for myself, which I think is why I didn’t really give them the proper consideration they deserved.

However, as I began to list out all the amazing things that had happened for me over the course of 2017, I got more and more excited. I realized how I had grown by leaps and bounds personally and professionally. I realized I had moved forward exponentially in those 12 months… but sadly, hadn’t even noticed my progress. 😛

And this is why taking the time to pause and note your accomplishments, as well as celebrate them, is so very important!!! In order to continue making progress, you first have to know where you are! In order to know where you’re going, you first have to know where you are! Plus, before this exercise, I was feeling kind of down about my 2017. There were several goals I’d fallen short of, and of course that’s what I focused on.

But, if you take a moment to reflect on everything you DID manage to do, suddenly those things that didn’t quite happen aren’t such a big deal anymore.

Thus, acknowledging and celebrating your wins can keep you from feeling discouraged. It keeps you from giving up because it helps demonstrate how far you’ve come from where you were. It keeps you excited, enthusiastic about continuing the journey, and motivated to keep striving toward the next goal.

So. If you’re like me and tend to blow past achievements without a second glance, please take a second to STOP. PAUSE. Look around. Tally up all the amazing stuff you’ve gotten done and then bask in that for a little while. Treat yourself to something special! Pamper yourself a little bit! The journey is the reward, yes, so take a moment to enjoy the sights along the way!

And then you can get back to kicking ass and taking names. 😉

I may not have done such a great job on all of my goals set up for 2017, but I sure didn’t do too shabby, either.

Here are some of the things I accomplished in 2017:

1. Wrote over 100,000 words on Reign of Dust (in less than 9 months, obliterating my previous writing speed for the year/month/week etc)
2. Published my first children’s book
3.  Moderated and hosted several panels at our largest local pop culture convention for the first time ever
4. Studied the Stoic philosophy daily (as part of my morning routine) and can now say for certainty it’s starting to sink in. I’ve felt much calmer and more in control emotionally in the last month than ever before!
5. Partially as a result of the Stoicism, and partially as a result of focusing on marital goals, I’ve been able to diffuse any arguments that pop up with the hubby recently in record time (I will admit this directly correlates to me managing my stubbornness…)
6. Spent more time with our friends than ever before and had a blast!
7. Created a fun activity list to do with my son so we spend quality time together several times a week
8. Joined a health program that has helped me target what foods and exercises are best for my body type, helping me lose weight most efficiently (though I have yet to make this very consistent… that will be a 2018 goal!)
9. Grew my mailing list from 30 to 1100
10. Was asked back as a panel moderator for our largest local pop culture convention in 2018! (And was also invited to speak on a panel by someone else for the first time!)
11. Started a podcast for indie author moms with another author mom that now has a website, a FB group, a mailing list, and a workbook + more coming 2018
12. Started a Facebook group for authors of the specific genre I’m writing so we can work together to help each other out and cross promote
13. Took our first international vacation and have our second international vacation already booked!
14. Went to a writing conference for indie authors and made soooo many new writer friends, plus learned more tips and tricks for indie authors! (This also led to my induction into a Mastermind type of group which has already been invaluable!)
15. Got everything in order to launch my freelance editing business in 2018, then launched it in January and had filled up all of 2018 in one day! WOW!!!
16. My LifeScore increased from 76 at the beginning of the year to 81! (This is another Michael Hyatt invention. It’s a handy tool for figuring out where you are now, and what areas of your life could use improvement. My score at the beginning of 2017 was in the Success zone, as the score of 81 still is as well, however, I’m inching up toward that Transformational zone…. so watch out!)

That is quite a freakin’ lot, if you ask me.

Much of it was not what I had specifically planned at the beginning of the year, but moving toward what I HAD planned led me to all of these amazing and happy things happening!

I will take it, that’s for sure. And I’m gonna go celebrate now, too.

So what were some of your greatest accomplishments in 2017? And how are you going to celebrate them???

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