Freelancers and entrepreneurs are often times guilty of working themselves to the bone without taking the time to rest. Those of us who are especially Type-A also have a tendency of blowing past an important milestone, ignoring that it happened and then moving on to the next challenge.
If we’re going to build amazing businesses, it’s important that we learn how to enjoy the journey. One way to do that is to make it a habit of celebrating the milestones in our freelance business.
Why It’s Important to Celebrate Milestones
I’ve learned the hard way how blowing past important milestones leads to stress and burn-out. I’ve also learned how from an emotional perspective it leaves you feeling kind of broke. If you’re always working and don’t stop to smell the roses every once in a while, it can seem like you’re always far behind.
Additionally, I’m pretty sure that not celebrating our business milestones actually blocks money from coming to us. How can we expect to make money if we aren’t grateful for what we already have? This is something Lisa Nichols addresses in her latest book, Abundance Now. She mentions how entrepreneurs can activate more prosperity in their lives and build confidence by acknowledging how far they’ve already come. Here are some of the ways you can celebrate milestones in your freelance business.
Keep a running list.
I keep a running list of all the milestones I’ve accomplished in my business. Every time I accomplish a new one I add it to the list.
This helps because, first, I’ve made it a habit of celebrating milestones by the act of adding them to a master list. Second, whenever I review the list I can focus on what I have and how far I’ve come, not how far I still want to go.
This also helps in those moments when I’m not feeling very confident. I simply whip out the list and review it. Within a few minutes, I start to feel better.
Do something nice for yourself.
Whenever I accomplish something big in my business I celebrate the milestone by doing something nice for myself. On the two-year anniversary of having quit my job, I made a mug with my book cover imprinted on it. After the completion of a recently large project, I booked a nail appointment.
It doesn’t seem like much, but even little things like this can go a long way in celebrating the milestones in our businesses.
A quick note about guilt. Most of us are terrible at doing something nice for ourselves. We’re great at doing nice things for other people, but when it comes to ourselves we feel guilty. We have to remind ourselves that we deserve nice things too.
Practice gratitude.
Perhaps the best way to celebrate milestones in your freelance business is to practice gratitude for your accomplishments. Practicing gratitude is easy, free and doesn’t require a whole lot of time.
You might already have a gratitude practice in place. If you do, I encourage you to start practicing gratitude for the great things you do in your business.
Final Thoughts
While it may not seem like it at first, the ability to celebrate milestones in your freelance business can make a major difference in your mindset, outlook and bank account. Try it out for a while and see how it goes.
