A few additional thoughts:

Congratulations are due…

…for all of your awesome VICTORIES last week!!!

Did you just say: “Huh?”

As in: “Who, me?”

As in: “But nothing special happened last week.”

As in: “Honestly, I don’t think I deserve these balloons…”

Well then, you and I definitely need to have a little talk about how you are defining the term “victory.”

My guess is you (like so many people) are defining a victory as:

“a BIG achievement that, when shared, would be recognized by society as undeniably and inarguably worth congratulating you for.”

Like getting a job or a promotion, or getting published, or getting nominated for an award, or wining a race.

These big victories feel safe to share.

Know why?

Because “big” victories are usually when someone else or a fact (like your winning race time) confirms your greatness. So it feels safe (and not arrogant) to say, “Hey look, this organization thinks I’m awesome!”

Don’t get me wrong, those are totally cool victories.

Unfortunately, they don’t happen that often. And what sustains you in the time between those big victories, is you expanding your definition of what a victory is to include all of the important, little victories that happen in between – like:

:: You shifting your mindset from one of fearful scarcity to one of courageous abundance before you go in for that audition.

:: You pressing the Send key to submit a grant application.

:: You investing in your career by buying that course.

:: You choosing to take a personal day to let yourself breathe.

:: You deciding to conserve your energy by not engaging with your brother when he leaves that provoking voicemail message.

A victory is a victory because YOU decide it is – that’s all the validity required.

A victory that falls into your lap is just as valid as one you put a lot of effort into.

Shifting to your next level of success requires sustaining a feeling of momentum. Owning all of your victories, celebrating them, and sharing them with a person or group of people who will feel genuinely and unabashedly happy for you, is how you nurture both your progress and your positivity.

Onward!