Yes, I know, I’m repeating myself here but this is a very important idea that keeps you motivated as you progress towards your goals so I’ll go on saying it!
Moving forward in life is often about steering away from pain or towards pleasure and, as far as possible, I’d rather do the second.
When you’re setting your goals, remember to make it one of your first steps to come up with a list of ways to reward yourself. (By the way, setting good goals is an achievement in itself and so it deserves a reward.)
The reward you choose is up to you, of course, and it needs match effort that’s gone in to the achievement. If you’ve nailed a relatively minor goal, it could be a new plant for your garden or putting your feet up for 10 minutes with a nice cup of something. If you’ve hit the big goal, then naturally the reward should be something to reflect that.
Now, no going all Puritan on me and saying the achievement is a reward in itself! Yes, of course, you should wallow in the feeling of success – you deserve to. There needs to be a tangible something to look forward to, though.
And no passing off, say, a bunch of flowers that someone else gave you as the reward: it has to be something you do for or give to yourself. It’s essential that you show yourself appreciation of your successes.
Sometimes clients say they’d be having the cup of something or buying the plant or whatever anyway. I don’t think that matters – just as long as you tell yourself “Well done, Me! This is your reward for all your effort.”
Tip: If you don’t want to be spending money, how about making a chart with all your goals on it and giving yourself a gold star (or 2 or more) to mark your successes?
