On an absolutely freezing Friday morning, I went for my frameless park walk with my physio that I do twice a week. The timer told of a new Personal Best! I was elated.
I snapped a photo of the time on the watch to mark this huge win…proof!
The time shown on the watch is perhaps laughable to others as it takes me so long. And it does make me a little nervous to talk about it, thinking that it might be silly.
I remember times during my recovery that I didn’t share my wins, thinking they were too small to be a big deal.I wrote in my book –
“My iPhone beeps, signalling that I have a text. ‘Congrats on doing that walk, Em.” I smile and force myself to soak up the praise. To sustain motivation and remember to keep challenging myself is tough, especially when often I don’t see a huge change in my performance. Many of my achievements are hard to celebrate. They were once so easy and are seen as a cinch to many around me. When you’re continually trying to keep up with others it’s hard to allow yourself time to stop and evaluate your achievements. Quite often I respond to others’ congratulations sarcastically, failing to acknowledge the milestone. Instead I just keep going, striving for the next thing on my bucket list.
I admit to feeling a bit hard done by when an accomplished task is not recognised. I know that I have to announce this achievement, even though it seems like I’m bragging. As time has passed, and people’s priorities have become so different to mine, it’s even harder to get their attention. My achievements can easily float by unacknowledged”
Often we perhaps choose not to share our wins due to being scared of judgement.
The fact is, when you have ongoing rehabilitation, the only way to sustain that is by celebrating every win, even the smallest ones. Even little milestones deserve acknowledgement and praise.
So, here is my win for the week, a new personal best of 11 mins 30 secs.
How do you celebrate your big and small wins? Are they celebrated differently? How can you encourage others to celebrate their wins more often?