Celebrating...one step at a time

This magnificent staircase is part of POST Houston - a 500,000 square foot retail venue that was repurposed from an old warehouse and office building used by the USPS. The venue hosts retail space, food courts, performance arenas to name a few. The staircases may begin at different points and even take different directions, but the ultimate landing brings you to the same place. This is a perfect image to consider when looking at our life and the goals we have set...we may not get to the top the same way, but eventually we do land at our destination. But what about the stops along the way? How we recognize those steps goes a long way in how we recognize ultimate success.

When a baby is beginning to walk, he/she will toddle along, often taking an unsteady step or two then falling down. They get up and try again...and again...and again. An addict going into recovery is told to take the process one day at a time. There is even recognition for getting to 30 days and in the case of recovery, it is a lifelong journey. But 30 days is an accomplishment! Yet, when we set goals for ourselves - we measure progress as to whether we got to the end result. So why are short term successes not celebrated? If an addict can celebrate 30 days of sobriety, we should be able to recognize short term success. Maybe it has to do with the purpose of the original goal. What was the "why" for wanting to accomplish that in the the first place? Was it a desire to lose 10 pounds in order to fit into/feel comfortable in a particular dress for one particular event? Or were you looking at your overall lifestyle and choosing to make a change all around? Most likely it was the former so anything short of a 10 pound weight loss would be considered failure. But what if you lost eight pounds? Does that not count?

There is a student in one of my classes who has been working very hard to make changes in their life. When this person first began their journey, one workout a week was a struggle. But then it became two and then three. Then changes to their diet began to take hold and after two years, this student is exercising five days a week, has lost over 35 pounds and overall feels healthy and strong. What started out as "maybe I need to lose a few pounds" has become a strong desire to create a healthier lifestyle. When we talk, I see a much happier and stronger person than the one who started over a year ago. Even happier and stronger than who they were six months ago. Have the steps along the way met the original goal? No, but each new activity, each pound lost, was another step. It required smaller steps but they were still climbing the staircase. While we don't need fireworks and confetti, we should still recognize the progress along the way.

It is also important to recognize that this is only a piece of the puzzle and not the end result. It takes time for any plan to completely come together. Someone in recovery certainly realizes that! We are not a society that likes to be patient, but in creating changes within our life whether it be personal, professional, or health related, it doesn't happen overnight. At least not anything that is sustainable longterm.

So how do we measure that progress? How do we even establish a goal with points to monitor success? How do we know when we need to re-focus our goal? Starting August 2, I'm offering a private Facebook group to support goal writing and progress. This is more than just creating a "to do" list but creating SMART goals. More to come on that next time. In the meantime, what was your success today? To be continued....