In my last post I ended with a promise to myself, that once I completed the blog I was writing to you, I would celebrate by heading to the beach to build sandcastles with my grandchildren. Done, and what fun we had!! I also promised that next in the series of tiny-little-practices-that-make-a difference would be on celebrating completion, so here it is.
When was the last time you finished a task and danced a little jig? Do you pause to fully appreciate endings? Have you noticed how quickly you move on to the next thing? Perhaps, you are off to the next thing even before you’ve completed the one you are in? Lately I’ve been noticing that most of us, myself included, neglect celebrating.
Forewarning: Celebrating is both practical and glorious. Completing things takes focus and seriousness. Celebration requires releasing into at least a little bit of silliness. :)
Pausing to celebrate even the tiny accomplishments gives rise to being able to enjoy steering a sequence of tasks to completion, the essence of successful project management. All the project management systems in the world won’t help you if you can’t wrestle the small tasks to completion and then celebrate. But beyond that, there is the glorious sense of peace and fulfillment that comes with being able to celebrate completions.
So here is a tiny little mid-summer practice to develop your celebration muscle.
Step 1: For the purpose of developing this as a practice, pick one area in your life to celebrate completing an accomplishment more consciously. Keep it small and simple, something you do regularly.
You could use the one f-ing thing from the tiny-little practice I posted in June. Perhaps it is in the realm of chores at home, or tasks related to work. For example: Completing doing the dishes, weeding the garden, answering all your emails, closing the books on the day, completing a painting or drawing, posting that blog . . .
Step 2: Decide specifically what it is that signals completion.
Specificity is your friend with this step. For example: With the dishes it might be that the counters are clear and clean, in the garden it might be weeding a specific row or bed, with emails it might be that you have answered all the flagged messages or your inbox is empty, with closing the books it might be the act of stapling those slips together or making the deposit, a painting or drawing might be completed with the flourish of your signature.
Step 3: Then choose a way to exaggerate the feeling of being complete. This should feel a little grand and verge on being embarrassing to do at first!
Raise your hands above your head and shout, “Yes!”
Dance a little jig
Play a tune from a playlist of upbeat music that you absolutely love
Tell a trusted friend, “Hey, I got it done!”
Step 4: Then pause. Pause and let the good feeling of completion reverberate down through you heart center before you move on to the next thing. A few slightly deeper breaths will help to metabolize the value of your completion. This step is important, so don’t rush through it.
Step 5: Once you have allowed for a true pause, move on while taking note of how this tiny practice contributes to enjoying a more substantial sense of self. My clients have found that it also contributes to getting stuff done . . .
Let me know how it goes if you are so inclined!
Now it is time for me to dance a little jig right here in my office . . . :)