What have you got to celebrate?

December 30, 2007 by Janet Beckers
Filed under: Business Skills, Where to Start

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I do hope that you have had a beautiful Christmas and are still in holiday mode. It’s funny how after the crazy rush of Christmas one of the first things we do is start setting big goals for the next year in the guise of New Year’s Resolutions. STOP! Don’t do it yet.

Let me share with you a story of an activity I did with my family this week. I hope I inspire you to do the same.

Questions at the table

Christmas with my in-laws is your typical Christmas get together of a large family as there are often people at the extended table that I only see once or twice a year. Nieces, nephews and cousins whose lives I really know very little of.

We played a game this year where we went around the table, each person in turn sharing one thing that was the absolute highlight of 2007 and one thing that they are looking forward to in 2008. Only one thing. I learnt so much about my family in the short time it took to play this game because we could choose only one thing and it had to be positive. There was a real feeling of celebration as people shared highlights as diverse as learning the piano to starting a new business to retiring. This got me thinking about all the different things our little family has achieved in the last 12 months.

What do you have to celebrate?

How often do you sit down and really think about all you have achieved in the last 12 months? Importantly, how often do you congratulate yourself and take the time to celebrate?

This week take the time to do the following activity. Our family of 4 did this and it was an incredibly affirming thing to do and share. It is all about celebrating what you have achieved before you start on your 2008 to-do list.

Art paper, crayons and pencils.

You are going to create a celebration board to keep as a reminder of how wonderful you are when you feel that you are standing still. It is not enough to simply write a list with lined paper and a pen. That is not a celebration.

We used a large A3 piece of art paper and the whole family took part. Choose whatever is at hand but make sure it is special. Make sure you have lots of coloured pencils and crayons on hand. You can even use photos if you are organised enough to have them on hand.

Symbols and thought bubbles

Draw symbols for each person and / or major focus for the year. You don’t have to be a great artist. For example we just drew love hearts with each of our names in them. Wonderful Web Women has been a major focus for us this year so we drew our logo in crayon on the art paper.

Spread the focus symbols around the paper because now you are going to draw thought bubbles and arrows around each focus symbol – the same way you would draw a mind map.

Working backwards from December, think of all the things you have achieved and learnt in the last year. Create a different coloured thought bubble for each achievement and attach it to your focus symbol with an arrow. You’ll be surprised how quickly the page gets crowded.

But I Can’t Think Of Anything

If you have trouble finding something to write, here is one to start you off. Simply by reading this means you have taken action. Celebrate that you have taken the initiative to join a community of entrepreneurial women who are here to help you create success on the internet. Even if you haven’t got a website yet, you have taken a step toward success that the majority of people you know will not have done.

Share your success

We all felt so positive when we looked at our completed art paper that we have decided to laminate it and call it a Celebration Board. I know I will refer back to this often next year in the times when I feel frustrated, as is inevitable.

If you do this activity, take the time to share your wins with others who care. US! Visit your forum at www.WonderfulWebForum.com and share what you discovered. Over the next week I’ll share with you some of the things we drew on our Celebration Board in the forum area for Balancing Business, Family and Lifestyle.

If you haven’t joined the forum yet, simply click on the register link at the top to sign up.

Next week I’ll share with you what a 73 year old ”Groover Gran” and a push bike have to do with achieving more in 2008.

Cheers

Janet

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