This is part three of a four-part series of articles. This article hits home for me because it is something that I have been guilty of in the past.

You’ve chosen to change your life, you’ve stayed the course, and you’ve successfully begun kicking life’s ass, what now? You have to make a concerted effort to be able to acknowledge your victories and enjoy them. What is it all worth if you do not get to enjoy reaching goals?

I have personally let my own drive get in the way of enjoying accomplishments along the way. This is not something that I am proud of but it is something that I realized along this journey. I am so driven that I have to literally remind myself that I need to enjoy myself along the way. I would complete whatever goal it was that I set and my mind immediately shifted toward the next one. No celebration, no high fives, I wasn’t even taking the time to smile while accomplishing my goals. I was being highly productive but wasn’t really enjoying the process. My Father informed me of this, and I am grateful that he did. 

This is a balancing act, like many other facets of life. If you do not enjoy victories along the way, you will always be a miserable fuck that no matter how vast the accomplishment, it will never fulfill you. The counterpart to that is that you enjoy it too much. If you enjoy it too much you can waste valuable time that you could use to hunt other goals. Just take the time to enjoy it, take the time to acknowledge that you are doing well. If you don’t this can burn you out along with the people that you have surrounded yourself with. This is another thing that I have to consider because I am a dedicated father and husband. 

This is a very important part of the process, but like I mentioned, this is also a very delicate balance. Enjoy being on the right path, but it has to be enjoyed in moderation. Accomplish a goal, acknowledge the accomplishment, throw a party, enjoy your moment in the sun. I have days where I think to myself “Man, I love my life, I’m in an extremely good place right now.” That is extremely important to do. Self-improvement is a journey that you must enjoy along the way. Acknowledging your accomplishments and celebrating them will serve as fuel for your internal drive moving forward. You can be a savage and crush your goals while also enjoying your accomplishments along the way. 

We are all on this self-improvement journey because we want to be a better more well-rounded person, but we also want to be happier. Acknowledging the good times is something that must take place. Especially if you are living in similar circumstances to what I once was. Growing up, we didn’t have a ton of money, we never went hungry but we also didn’t own any yachts. My life is significantly better today than it was a decade ago. That cannot go without acknowledgment otherwise the work was all for nothing. When you take an important step in life, I want you to think back to when you didn’t have it so good. Reflection is instrumental to happiness and will ultimately make you appreciate the process more.

In short:
Make your goals. 

Accomplish your goals.

Let the good times roll.

Also, make sure to thank those that have helped you along the way. Gratitude is also a very important part of this journey. I know I am much more likely to continue helping someone that makes it clear that they appreciate my efforts than someone who never makes that gesture. Doing this takes a short amount of time and very little effort but can make a huge difference in your networking.

 Celebrate you and everyone in your circle kicking ass. Be grateful, enjoy yourself and this moment, just make sure that you are aware of the amount of time that you spend celebrating.

–MindofAMan