What Should We Celebrate?
December 18th, 2009 | 
Author: I tend to be a bit too analytical and so focused on a goal. Unfortunately, when I’ve finally done everything necessary to achieve that goal, my reaction will be more, “OK, that’s done. What now?” rather than one of joy. I get so wrapped up in the details of the work that I forget to celebrate the accomplishment. That’s not a good quality-of-life strategy.
So, I was moved by a recent Harvey Mackay column which reflected on holiday season celebrations and observed: “I often wonder why we limit our celebrations the rest of the year.”
In his book, “A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule The Future”, Daniel H. Pink notes that Henry Ford fired assembly line workers for laughing or even smiling while on the job. Ford felt that workers who were having fun were a danger to efficient production. Fortunately, that kind of thinking is as outdated as the Model T.
Harvey Mackay feels that work should be done “in a place where we can be excited, enthusiastic and passionate about what we do.” So here are some suggestions he makes:
1) Celebrate often
2) Big celebrations are great but get-togethers to celebrate small
successes are good, too.
3) Be creative in your celebrations. The basics are food, fellowship
& fun. Build on that base.
4) Share the responsibility of creating a celebration. A fresh
perspective can create unexpected positive results.
5) It doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s the intention of the
celebration that’s important.
You can read Harvey’s entire column here: http://bit.ly/Mackay
So, what should we celebrate next ?!
Posted in baby boomers, Branding, Online Media, Quality of life, Social media | 
Tags: celebrations, Daniel H. Pink, Harvey Mackay, Henry Ford, Model T, Right-Brain
“It would be nice to always have our mind and feet in the same room and be able to appreciate what we have at any given moment. Most of the time it is only in retrospect that I realize how fortunate I am. Everyday we are alive is reason to celebrate, the feeling of accomplishement is a bonus!! Now I must go and practice my mantra!”
Friends have criticized me for exactly the same goal orientation. Finding reasons to celebrate should get included into that “goal” seeking strategy. Give yourself permission to take the wins. We always had a quarterly lunch celebration when the ARB came in #1 at KFRG during the 90’s and early part of this decade. (34 in a row)
You don’t always win. Like housing prices don’t always go up. Put the celebration of the win as part of the goal, and you will get better balance.