Take Time To Celebrate The Milestones
My morning routine is pretty predictable. I wake up, drink coffee, do a little reading/journaling, work out, and then start the rest of the day. (I usually squeeze in a little work also because…well I just can’t help myself). There was one day last week, though, when I let my day start out slowly…way slower than normal.
Instead of waking up at 5, I let my eyes open when the sun started rising (which was still pretty early since daylight savings has the sun coming up around 6:30), I lied in bed for a while, letting my body fully wake up before finally get out of bed to start my coffee. I took my time, sipping slowly, and spending extra time journaling and writing down the things I was grateful for. See, the day before, I’d gotten some very, very good news. It was the kind of news that really validated all of my hard work, the nights I’ve spent working, the time I’ve dedicated to my writing rather than to my family…it all felt worth it in that moment.
Bet you’re wondering what the news was, huh?
Well even if you weren’t, I’m telling you anyway. I got a contract with a marketing firm to work continuously on a couple of their clients’ social media account and blogs. I have hustled A LOT since April of this year, and this is my first long-term job, which I got through a contact I made on the Girlboss platform (side note for my fellow hustlers: you need to get on that platform ASAP Rocky!)
Take a Pause to Enjoy The Milestones
Hard work is so important, especially if you’re trying to get your own business off the ground. You have to be willing to hustle for it, and especially in the beginning, live and breathe it. Without the work, I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I have. However, it’s also important to enjoy the journey.
These milestone moments - your first client, first major share on social media, first big contract, first $1,000 deposit in your account - they need to be celebrated. Our goals are moving targets. Sure, we start out with the intention to reach a certain destination, but we almost never end up right where we intended to be. Life takes us down a different path, or what we intended to start as a small side hustle (i.e. my content writing) could turn into a whole career (like how I landed in copywriting). I’m not saying that writing wasn’t my goal, but it definitely grew into more than what I expected it to be.
If we don’t take the time to reflect, to celebrate even the smallest milestones that inch us further along in our journey, our lives could literally flash by in a blur, and we’ll have no idea how we got to where we are. You don’t want to get to the top, to achieve your dream goal, and not remember a thing about how you got there, because seriously then what? What comes after you reach the goal? Now you have to reach for the next one, right?
Life is Made Up of a Series of Moments
We remember the accomplishments of our goals the most - when we graduate, get our first job, buy that first house, marry that first husband (kidding!) - but that’s not what makes up the bulk of this journey. It’s those times in-between - the late nights spent working, the long calls with a friend when you felt like quitting, those conversations that turned into beautiful business ideas - those are the moments that life is made of.
Make sure you take the time to pause after every win, no matter how small. Live in that moment and reflect on everything you experienced that led to it.
