I am terribly ‘un-present.’
I roll from one project to the next, never stopping to appreciate the mountain peak I’ve just climbed. I finish and move on. It’s unhealthy and it’s probably one of the reasons I’ve spent most of this year either burnt out or close to a burnout. Shelley Wilson, Bloggers Bash committee member and fellow non-fiction and YA Fantasy writer is here today to tell us a thing or two about why we need to stop and admire the view from the top.
Listen up folks, don’t be a dufus like me. Shelley knows her shit!
To buy How I Motivated Myself to Succeed
Thank you so much to my lovely host, Sacha, for being a part of my blog tour for the release of my latest non-fiction book, How I Motivated Myself to Succeed.
Here’s a guest post I’ve written about celebrating your achievements.
We set goals, and we work hard to make them happen, and then we arrive at that wondrous day where it all pays off and we achieve a dream. That dream could be losing weight for a special occasion, publishing a book, running a marathon, or something as simple as getting to the bottom of the ironing pile!
As children, we were often rewarded with a small treat when we achieved something wonderful. Celebrating achievements is not a new phenomenon and yet we shy away from congratulating ourselves on a job well done. I often blog about self-sabotage and comparing ourselves to others on my motivational blog (http://www.motivatemenow.co.uk) and the common thread running through the comments often turns to the theme of limiting beliefs.
‘I can’t possibly tell anyone I’ve lost four stone in weight because my other friends who struggle with their weight might not speak to me.’
‘If I tell my friends about that two book deal with Penguin Random House they might think I’m bragging.’
Releasing these thoughts can be tricky as we have conditioned ourselves over many years of watching, listening, and learning. However, it’s relatively easy to rethink how we handle certain situations, and I believe that learning to celebrate your achievements is the best place to begin.
Here’s a brief excerpt from my new release, How I Motivated Myself to Succeed:
“One of the most important discoveries I made during my year-long journey was the value of celebrating my achievements – however small they might be. I always took a moment at the end of every month to write a summary post and absorb the implications of what I’d just achieved. In my first month’s challenge, I lost ten pounds in weight, for month four I gave up alcohol for thirty days. These aren’t massive accomplishments, but they were important to me and meaningful for the voyage I was on. Observing the progress you make daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly keeps you focused on your destination, but allows you to enjoy the journey.”
Think about some of the things you’ve achieved recently. Perhaps you’ve made progress with a writing project, or survived your first day at university! Have you finished knitting that scarf, or completed a jigsaw that was thwarting you? Celebrations can take many forms, from sharing a coffee with friends to buying something special. It’s your choice how you celebrate but never skip this step in your personal development. You’ve worked hard, and now it’s time to celebrate!
No matter what you hope to achieve, recognizing that you are making progress is an important step. There were many times when I wanted to throw my manuscript in the bin but I’m proud of myself for powering through the self-doubt until I arrived at the finish line.
I’d like to end with another thank you to my delightful host, Sacha. Thank you for reading and be sure to check out the other host spots for more inspiration, motivation, and a sprinkle of fun.
If you would like to read more about Shelley’s celebration techniques then take a look at her new release, How I Motivated Myself to Succeed, out now in paperback and eBook, and packed full of information on self-care, freeing yourself from fear, organizing your life, and much more.
To buy How I Motivated Myself to Succeed
More About Shelley:
Shelley is a multi-genre author of non-fiction self-help and young adult fantasy fiction. Her latest release, How I Motivated Myself to Succeed is being dubbed as the sequel-that’s-not-a-sequel to her bestselling book, How I Changed My Life in a Year. She writes a personal development blog (www.motivatemenow.co.uk) as well as an author blog (www.shelleywilsonauthor.com) where she shares book reviews, author interviews, and random musings about writing. Shelley was thrilled to win the Most Inspirational Blogger Award at the Bloggers Bash in 2016, and to scoop second place in the same category in 2017. She is a single mum to three teenagers and a black cat, loves pizza, vampires, and The Walking Dead, and has a slight obsession with list writing.
You can find Shelley here:
Website, Writing Blog , Motivational Blog, Twitter, Facebook YA, Non-Fiction
You can also see more of Shelley’s fab tips on her blog tour here:
So, are you a celebrator or an ignorer like me? Let Shelley know in the comments below.
Thank you so much for being a part of my blog tour and book journey, Sacha xxx
You’re most welcome, it’s the wife’s birthday today but I’ll make sure I pop in and approve comments a few times today 💖
Oh, send her big happy birthday wishes from me xx 🙂
Great post! I’m a wannabe celebrator who doesn’t get the time so ends up forgetting rather than ignoring!
I am THE WORST Ritu
Erm….I think I may have realised that 😆😆
Bahahaha oops!
Keep smiling!!
It’s the start of a new month, Ritu! I love starting a new project or challenge on the first of a month – it’s the perfect day to change old habits and start remembering to celebrate 😉
True dat!
Personally, I love reading success stories. They give the rest of us hope, you know?
True, they do. I really need to try harder to stop and celebrate
never mind the celebrating…
stop now and then to B R E A T H E!
Bahahaha you make an excellent point!
That’s so true! I’ve got three success story case studies in the book – sharing is caring 🙂
I’m awful at this self celebrating stuff, much better at ra-raing others’ achievements. But that gentle glow that comes with a little self reflection is very satisfying and, indeed energising. Best of luck with the book, Shelley and well done too for enabling Sacha to post without half a dozen f-bombs. Now that is worth celebrating.
Oh hush up Geoffle, that’s the second fbomb related complaint I’ve had this morning! *eyeroll*
On your comment though, agreed you don’t RA Ra yourself at all! 🙄🙄🙄😂😍
Bahahahahaha, I did notice that 😉 Thanks for your lovely comment and we are all more than happy to do the ra-raing for you instead xx
It’s really interesting that Shelley mentions that crippling fear of celebrating our achievements, as I think that’s partly a cultural thing. I was listening to ‘Writing Excuses’ podcast and they were talking about how their British counterparts feel uncomfortable promoting their books, whereas the American hosts readily describe their own work as “awesome” and “really worth a look”. This kind of self-congratulation seems to work wonders for their confidence, so I think they might be on to something!
Loving Shelley’s book so far and I’m already feeling much more motivated!
Wow do they? God, I’m one of the more promo-happy people I know and the thought of saying (or believing) anything I do is awesome gives me hives. I’ll have to take a listen. What episode is it?
Yes, almost every time they mention their books! I’m not sure which episode, as I tend to fly through them. I’ll backtrack and let you know.
Well you should, cos you’re awesome! 😉🖒
I totally agree with you, Adam. We need to be more like our American cousins I think – perhaps it’s something we could trial at the Blogger Bash – instead of stand-up comedy, we can have stand-up ‘Woo Hoo, I’m awesome’ contest 😉 I’ll bring the calamine lotion for Sacha’s hives haha 😉 Thank you for the lovely feedback about my book too, I’m so glad you’re enjoying it xx
Wouldn’t that be a fine thing? 😂 Yeah, probably a good idea!
You’re very welcome, thank you for writing it!
Towards completion of a book I feel proud of my achievement and ready to tell the world but once it’s released, as it is now with a brand new book published yesterday, I get the feeling that I have to move on quickly and do better and put the majority of my efforts into that. But I do agree that success stories are a great boost and motivator. Good luck with the book, Shelley, it sounds like one that many of us should read.
Thank you so much, Wendy. I understand that push to start the next project straight away but we can still celebrate while cracking on. I always think about it like a blog post. You spend hours researching, preparing, writing, and editing a single post and then forget all about it once it’s published! We need to find the balance between the work load and the celebrations x
I don’t celebrate what I’ve accomplished much, more focus on what I didn’t accomplish. *cringe* It’s easier said than done for some of us. Good luck, Shelley! <3
I can totally relate to that, Sarah. It took me a l-o-n-g time to learn how to stop concentrating on the lack of achievements. Start small with a daily task – what did you achieve today? I managed to keep up with the blogger bash twitter hour! Yay me! Achievements don’t have to be life changing, it can be as simple as managing to drink four glasses of water! Xx
Great post, Shelley and a wonderful tip. Great luck with your book!