Reward yourself for a change.

Most of us talk about being more productive . . . how to perform better in life coaching, and how to make more money, how to accomplish more each day. However, it’s not often that we think about how to celebrate our success.

Is rewarding yourself difficult?  If so, learn to overcome this hesitation; its a learned behavior . . . and not really productive to boot!  Here’s the reality:  you deserve to be rewarded for your efforts, and without this reward you are less effective. You might think that making more money or being a better coach is reward enough. That may be so, but it’s also important to address you “inner child needs” . . . you know, that child who was also told to put “the nose to the grindstone” by parents and teachers.  Or maybe your child was rewarded for early achievements, but no longer has anyone to fulfill that authority role.   So be that person yourself!

Chances are, you simply forgot that visible reward is what brings inspiration and emotional fulfillment. Without acknowledgement, it’s easy for work to become repetitive, dull, and lacking in motivation.

I fall into this no-reward habit a lot myself. I’ll work diligently on a project for a week, disregarding my progress and ruthlessly maintaining focus. By the end of the week I’ll feel drained and irritable. In fact, I’ll feel as if I’ve forced myself into a cramped hole for far too long and for no good reason.

However, if I stop and reward myself after each day of work, I look forward to the next opportunity to accomplish my goal and celebrate it. A great way to start doing this is to keep track of your life coaching success in a journal. Note your accomplishments, then reward yourself somehow, no matter how seemingly insignificant. Buy yourself a double-scoop ice cream cone. Take in a movie. Something! This way, you’re more likely to notice how far you’ve come and how much you’ve achieved. You will feeeeeel like you’ve accomplished something!

By doing this, you form a subconscious link between getting things done and having fun (or some other form of gift or bonus). It’s a very simple psychological “trick”, but it’s also extremely powerful. We all want our success to be acknowledged. We all want to be rewarded for our efforts. Eventually, if you’re doing things right, you will be rewarded with things like money and clients and the ability to take vacations. However, the subconscious mind doesn’t understand “eventually”. It only understands right now! By taking time to celebrate your daily achievements, you satisfy a part of yourself that is both powerful and often ignored.

Here are some more ideas to get you started:

•  Treat yourself to a particularly nice dinner (especially if you’ve been craving it).
•  Play your favorite music and dance or lounge around, as you wish.
•  Go for a walk and allow yourself to think of anything other than work.
•  Read a book purely for fun and entertainment.
•  Take time to enjoy that wonderful new sofa you just purchased.
•  Use a large felt marker to draw a bold check mark next to every small accomplishment of the day. Enjoy every second of it.

The next time you achieve a goal related to your life coaching practice – or even something simple like getting out of bed without tripping over your feet – take a moment to celebrate. In fact, take a break right now. Go get Dr. Craig’s free coaching report, print it out, grab a nice drink, and lounge on your comfy sofa for 30-60 minutes reading it over. Think of it as a reward for having finished reading this article. (There is, by the way, no downside to this exercise, and you will thank me later!)

So how do YOU acknowledge your life coaching success? How do YOU stay inspired or motivated? Leave a comment below. We’d love to hear your story!