Celebrate BEFORE Your Goal to GET TO Your Goal
When we talk about celebrating, most people do it in two ways:
Celebrate “big” moments
Celebrate with material things: drinks, food, a gift, etc.
It’s great to celebrate big wins.
It also feels good to reward ourselves with things.
But…
Only celebrating the big things means we’re celebrating less often than we could be.
Associating celebrating with material things makes us rely too heavily on external rewards and diminishes over time our internal happiness that comes with doing the thing (whatever it is).
So, today we’re going to challenge those ways of celebrating.
1) Learn to celebrate the small things.
Why wait to accomplish big things in order to celebrate and give thanks to ourselves for accomplishing something? Celebrating little wins will boost your confidence and it’ll encourage you to keep moving forward.
The more you can reward the effort process, the better off you are at building effective internal reward systems that will help you achieve your goals. It starts with something called thought-pairing. First, notice something related to the effort. Then, reflect on how it brings you closer to your desired identity.
Did you do something for a littler longer or better today?
Did you start something today?
Did you overcome something today?
Did you get through something difficult today?
Let’s take fitness for example.
Maybe your ultimate goal is to gain a certain amount of muscle, or lose weight, or learn how to do a push-up. If you wait until you hit that BIG win to celebrate, it’ll feel like your goal is too far away and you’ll get discouraged by how long it’s taking you to get there.
Now, if you celebrate things like…
I’ve been going to the gym constantly for 4 weeks now!
I can do 12 push-ups on my knees!
I was able to increase the weight of my squats!
Etc.
Not only will you feel really good in that moment, but you’ll recognize you’re taking steps towards your goal and it won’t seem as daunting anymore. Giving yourself reassurance that you’re moving forward, will help you stay on the path.
2) Learn to celebrate with your INTERNAL reward systems.
Also known as Intrinsic Motivation.
For this one… I want to start with a research study that was done on children:
“Summary: They took children that really liked to draw on their own and started giving them little gold stars on their drawings. Eventually, they stopped giving them stars and the children stopped drawing altogether. The children associated the good feeling of drawing with an external reward.”
We have to be really cautious with how much of our internal dopamine (a neurotransmitter in our body that plays a role in how we feel pleasure) we attach to external rewards. Self Reward (learning to reward ourselves mentally and detached from external rewards) is one of the most powerful things we can learn to do for ourselves.
Us humans, we’re not so great at doing what’s best for us. Our reward systems are not designed for things that are “just good for us” unfortunately. They’ve become designed to desire external rewards (congratulations, acknowledgment, quick results, etc.).
The key to sticking to your goals and doing what’s best for you? Self-Rewarding Behaviors.
So, practice your internal reward system talk:
“I am moving in the right direction.”
“This shows I am getting better at handling x.”
“If I get through this, I’ll be stronger/more resilient/more (insert adjective here).”
This article was adapted in part from a talk Dr. Huberman gave that I highly recommend you listen to: Link
Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash
If you’re looking for a safe space where you'll receive support and guidance in achieving your health goals, you're right where you need to be :) Submit a client application to receive your free 15 min consultation with me. I work with clients all over the world-changing their relationship with their health and wellness so that they can reestablish trust in their bodies and feel empowered and confident that they’re always making the best decision for themselves.
Hi, I’m Azul Corajoria, an Integrative Health Coach, Personal Trainer & Yoga Instructor. I support my clients in making step-by-step changes so that they can live a healthy and balanced life. By utilizing lifestyle and behavior adjustments with an emphasis on self-care, I guide and support my client’s in achieving their health goals and bridging the gap between where they are now and where they want to be.
