Why It’s Important to Celebrate Reaching Your Milestones

Divine intervention? Serendipity? Plain stupid luck?

However you might label it, I am grateful for the development.

Just when I was feeling stuck in a rut, along comes a milestone to kick me out of it.

As I half-heartedly pulled up an abyss of a Word document to begin this blog, not even remotely inspired by anything I could think to write, I titled the page as I always do: blog #_ and…WHAT?!

It’s my big 5-0?

It’s my big 5-0!!

Holy moly, how did that happen?!

And in that instant, the cosmos exploded in my mind and inspiration surged.

Two-plus years ago when I began writing blogs for our Consciously Awesome website, I was fresh to the blogging game. I’d never written one before. I had never even dreamed of writing one before.

Blogging was not on my radar, nor was it “my thing”.

So, I was excited and anxious at the same time, stepping into a whole new world of writing, sharing and connecting; embracing technology as well as social media.

I’d decided to set a goal for myself: write 25 blogs.

That seemed like a lofty aspiration - just outlandish enough to keep my sassiness up and believe I could achieve it, but not so outlandish as to overwhelm me before I even began.

As the weeks and months have gone by, I will admit I’ve had my share of loving this blog-writing thing as well as self-questioning, “Whatever made me sign up for this?” moments.

But I gotta tell you, when #25 came around, now that was an amazing feeling!

I had done it.

I had accomplished my goal; a goal I had never even dreamed about much less wanted to achieve, yet now was so pleased to have set and attained.

And thanks to reaching that milestone, my sassiness kept me going.

High-five to myself!

What is the magic of milestones?

Goals, graduations, ages, awards…what do milestones do for us?

In the grand scheme of things, why does achieving one really matter?

Reaching 25 blogs and now 50 got me thinking about such things.

Here are some of my insights on the magic of milestones.

Milestones extend the opportunity to…

Celebrate yourself

Who doesn’t like that?!

The first thing to do when achieving a milestone is to acknowledge and celebrate it, and yourself!

It takes some effort and perseverance on your part to accomplish it, no matter how grand or humble you think it is, and you deserve taking the time to savor the feeling.

Take a deep breath, let out a “Whoot-whoot!” or two, treat yourself to something special and bask in the ambiance of a job well-done.

Your next milestone will always beckon for you, and plans for the hot pursuit of it may already be growing in the back of your mind, but do yourself a favor and take at least a moment to enjoy your current feat.

Boost your confidence

When you accomplish a milestone, whether it’s one you set for yourself, such as writing 50 blogs, or one set by society, such as turning 50 years old, you affirm your abilities and your belief in yourself.

Thinking you can do something, problem-solving your way through it, persevering until you triumph: all of this strengthens your confidence in who you are and what you can accomplish.

And it encourages and empowers you to expand your “outlandish” parameter a little more as you set your sights on your next milestone.

Expand your idea of “self”

You are not the same person you were last week, last month or last year.

One thing that sustains us as human beings is our desire to grow.

You have your own ways of wanting to grow, change, and transform who you are, how you are, what you’re capable of, and what you do.

You strive to realize all of your dreams and desires, anticipating the joy, peace and wonder that can be attained.

Milestones invite you to push beyond your known parameters, to take a risk or a leap of faith, and then they greet your expanded-self at the end with a wink and a saucy “I told you so, I knew you could do it, now what’s next?”

Increase positivity in your life

The journey toward reaching a goal, accomplishing a task, overcoming a situation, etc. may sometimes be twisting but it is worth it.

Each time you attain a milestone you increase positive emotions in your life.

You gain more self-respect and self-confidence.

You bring happiness in; for yourself and for those around you who share your joy in your successes, so it’s like you’re surrounded by bliss.

You increase your sense of motivation…you just accomplished this, now why not try that?!

And the more you consciously notice and acknowledge your accomplishments you begin to notice and acknowledge even more of your accomplishments. It becomes a snowball effect.

Inspire others

Listen, we all need inspiration at times.

If by achieving a milestone we can inspire someone else toward achieving one of their own, why not do that?

Ripples of your happiness, motivation and confidence flow out from you, touching all those you come in contact with. Sometimes you do not even need to say anything, folks can just feel it.

Take an active part in the give and take, the ebb and flow of inspiration. The more we give and receive it, the more there will continue to be for giving and receiving.

Most of all, take time to enjoy your milestones.

Oh wait! Did I mention that already? Well maybe because IT’S IMPORTANT! And you don’t want to miss out on this regular source of joy and wonder in your life.

Gift yourself time to soak up all the magic before moving on to conquer your next milestone.

This is a jam-packed time of year for milestones in my world: moving-up ceremonies, graduations, retirements, school year endings.

For this 50^th blog to appear right now seems significant to me, and I am grateful. It made me slow down to really appreciate the many milestones I have attained thus far and look forward to the many that have yet to come.

Here’s to you finding the magic in YOUR milestones.