Recognizing Milestones

Sometimes, you can be pushing so hard towards a goal that it takes you a moment to realize when you’ve reached it.  My sense is that this is particularly true when the goal in question is more of a stop along the road, rather than the final destination.  I almost had such an experience just last week.

You see, I’m a coach with a vision, as most coaches are.  My vision, at it’s most fundamental level is about having women leaders step into their most powerful leadership selves, with a paradoxical sense of ease.  In other words, it’s about having women leaders engage with the challenging stuff that life throws at them, but with an energy of ease.

As I navigate towards this vision, there are a  myriad of tasks which I undertake on a daily basis.  There are numerous goals which I set for myself, all with a view to achieving the ultimate goal — having my message be heard and recognized as a valid one in a world that can sometimes feel overwhelming and anything but ease-filled.  Each of these goals feels worthy in and of itself, and yet, when they’re reached, it can be so easy to just sail on past it and keep moving towards “the big goal.”.  What I’m realizing is that by NOT acknowledging these supposed mini-accomplishments, there’s a way that I make the achievement of the big goal that much harder.  Why?  Because when you’re traveling a long road and you don’t stop to take a break or acknowledge your progress, you can actually feel like you’re getting nowhere.  Which is self-defeating.  So let me take a moment and acknowledge a milestone that I recently reached.  (|Note:  this is about me acknowledging my milestone; if you don’t care to acknowledge it, you can just move on to the last paragraph for the bottom-line )

For a long while now — probably a couple of years, actually — I’ve wanted to have an article of mine published in the coaching industry’s recognized publication, CHOICE magazine.  I’ve wanted to do this, but I’ve never actually submitted anything for consideration.  Don’t ask me why, I just didn’t.  Until this past spring.  That’s when I finally bit the bullet and decided to put one of my opinions regarding my profession in print and submit it with a view to having it published.  Well, it was accepted.  And the article is now in print for the world to see (you can check it out yourself at www.choice-online.com/current-toc.html — the title of the article is Meeting in the Middle).

Surprisingly, despite the fact that this is something I’ve been wanting for some time now, it took me a while to recognize this accomplishment as a milestone.  You see, my eyes are currently focused so far ahead.  And this particular accomplishment was a reminder to me that I must celebrate these smaller feats, even as I keep my eye on the bigger goal.  That’s the way for me to recognize the progress I’m making, and to feel like my work is bearing fruit.

Bottom-line: when you’re a leader with a vision that you’re working towards,  keeping your eye on the ultimate goal is important; it’s what keeps you focused and moving forward.  That being said, it’s imperative to recognize the smaller milestones that are reached on your way to that ultimate goal.  These moments of acknowledgment and celebration are what will have you realize that you’re making progress. And this progress is what will facilitate bringing your leadership vision to life.  Which is a good thing.