Top 10 Ways to Celebrate Reaching Your Goals

In keeping with my theme this week of celebrating reaching my 100,000 word goal for the year (6 whole months early, woohoo!), I’ve decided to make a list of the top 10 ways you can celebrate reaching your goals. The goals being celebrated don’t have to be as monumental as writing 100,000 words, though; you should celebrate every milestone in your life! So, here are a few favorites…

10. Treat Yourself

Whenever you reach a milestone, experts suggest treating yourself to something. This can be a favorite food, a new outfit, or even an impulse buy at the store. Ideally, you should pick something that carries the same weight or value as the milestone you’ve reached, so don’t go splurging on a new car because you just finished your 750 words for the day! Instead, maybe grab one of your favorite chocolate bars, or a nice new notebook.

9. Share With Friends

Another great way to celebrate reaching your goals? Share the news with friends and family! Tell all the people who care about you, so they can join in with a chorus of congratulations.

8. Share on Social Media

By the same token, another good place to share your news is on social media. Your followers will want to help congratulate you as well — and you can even turn your good news into a contest to help reward those that have similar goals (see #3!).

7. Document the Occasion

Another good way to celebrate success is to document it. Take pictures, write a journal entry (or blog post!), mark the date on your calendar or agenda, and declare it a personal holiday so you can remember how you felt at the same time next year. You can even schedule a professional photo shoot to help make this magic moment feel even more special.

6. Try Something New

Instead of celebrating with a trip to your favorite restaurant or usual reward, why not try something new? Venture outside of your comfort zone and sample some new cuisine, or do something unexpected to mark the occasion, like taking a hot air balloon ride or jumping off the high dive at your local pool. Get adventurous; you’ve earned it!

5. Go on an Artist Date

Along similar lines, if you’ve reached a creative milestone, another great way to celebrate is by taking yourself out on an Artist Date. Julia Cameron describes these in The Artist’s Way as “assigned play,” and “a once-weekly, festive, solo expedition to explore something that interests you.” You can hit up a museum, take a walk on the beach, visit a craft store, explore a new neighborhood, or just go out for coffee. Pick something that gets your heart racing and your sense of wonder engaged, and enjoy!

4. Reflect on the Path

Success is about the actions you’ve taken to achieve this moment, and there were likely lots of moving parts involved. Reflecting back on the path you took to arrive at your milestone is another good way to celebrate, because it will both remind you about the hard work AND give you courage to keep pressing forward with new goals. After all, if you’ve already done it once, how hard will it be to do it again?

3. Support Others on the Journey

Reaching goals can be difficult, especially if they’re big. Once you’ve reached a milestone, you’ll certainly want to share that success with others — but what about helping them, too? Part of your celebration can be found in helping others reach their own goals, especially if you share a similar trajectory. Share your story to inspire others to do the same. Offer advice and tips. Make yourself available to those who have questions, and want to know just how you did it. You can even write a book on the subject!

2. Start a “Success Journal”

Speaking of books, why not start a Success Journal? This notebook (or document saved on your computer) will be dedicated solely to keeping track of your successes and celebrating your wins. Many times we focus on the negative in life, which can end up holding us back. So why not flip the script and focus on the positive? Start by tracking your everyday victories, with a few notes about what you did and how you achieved those goals, and dedicate a whole page to the really big wins. Use different colored pens or markers to doodle, or get creative with scrapbooking items like stickers and washi tape. You can even create a private Pinterest board to give yourself a digital pat on the back – and to inspire yourself to keep going.

1. Create New Goals!

Yep, it’s true: once you’ve hit your big milestone, it’s time to pick a new goal to conquer. Climb every mountain, ford every stream, as Maria Von Trapp might sing. After celebrating your big win, remember to jump right back onto the horse and keep climbing! Soon you’ll reach your dreams!

Congratulations, you’ve reached your goals!

How do YOU celebrate your successes?