Celebrate how far you've come. Do it regularly, but do it in a special way.

It may seem a bit 'soft' if you're used to the macho principle of being hungry for a goal, but don't worry that it's going to make you complacent. You do need to be focused on your goal, but celebrating success the right way is even more important. It will help to make you resilient when you come up against the next obstacle.

Here's the special way of celebrating...

Attribute your success so far to your ability or potential

The research shows us that the top sports performers, business people, students attribute success to their ability or potential.

You should be thinking like this:

'I'm making good progress with my plan and it shows that I have the ability to rebuild my business/be a great parent/be a top salesperson. It shows that I'm the kind of person who succeeds when the going gets tough.'

Okay, it would seem strange if you said it out loud and the world wouldn't want to hear it anyway. You can be modest to others. It's what you tell yourself that counts.

Leading a team? Celebrate success in the same way. Highlight what your team has done and encourage them to see their success as evidence that they have the potential to achieve their goals.

Celebrating success and positive affirmations are different

That kind of specific celebration is not the same as getting up in the morning and reciting, 'I'm getting better and better in every way.'

Those positive affirmations might possibly raise your self-esteem for a few minutes, but they are not based on anything you did.

Attributing even small successes to things you've actually done and choosing to see them as evidence of your ability or potential is simply what the world's successful people do.

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