Why Acknowledging Your Wins is an Important Practice

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

goals, mind, celebrate, week, mindset, wins, life, serve, accomplish, reevaluate, people, areas, created, notice, reboot, friends, process, year, rat race, exhale

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Success is the progressive realisation of a worthy ideal. And that's a quote by Earl Nightingale. And if we believe that then we have to be willing to redefine what success really means, and joyfully celebrate the wins along the way. So stick around with me for today's episode where we take time for reflection to acknowledge the wins and understand why it's important. And we'll also start the process of doing some mental housekeeping as we bring 2021 to a close.

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The following was recorded in front of a live studio audience at the studio 21 podcast cafe. This is the United Podcast Network.

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Welcome to rat race reboot. I'm your host, Laura Noel. And as a certified coach and former 27 year military leader, each week, I provide bite sized mindset pivots that will help you reset your mind reawaken your spirit and regain your control. Welcome back, everyone to another episode of rat race reboot. I'm glad you're joining us today. So today is my birthday. And I use my birthday as a time to reflect it just so happens it's in the month of December, around the same time that most people are winding down for the year reevaluating their goals for the next year. So I want to share with you my process and some of the steps I take and some of the journal prompts that I follow and journal about that really helps set me up for success and get me evaluating what I've done, what I didn't accomplish, and celebrating the wins and then getting clarity on what I want to accomplish in the year ahead. And this is really important. One of the things that I really take a look at. And it's being a type A over achiever, often and I know this from my past life as being a type A over achiever who never celebrated wins. I was always go, go, go go go. And I have a lot of clients who had that same mindset or people that initially when I'm talking to them are in that locked into that mindset is I take the time to pause and reflect and look at what did I accomplish. And so sometimes I'll just open up my calendar. And look at some of the adventures I went on some of the trips I went on, some of the business wins. Some of the things that I've accomplished books I read, and I have a lot of those things annotated in my calendar, and I celebrate them. Sometimes I look through it, and it's kind of like, oh my gosh, I forgot I even did that. Because I was really in that mindset of just constantly going, I still get pulled into it. So I celebrate those wins. And the reason why that's so important. And I do that first, before I start diving into what do I want to accomplish next year, is because I've talked about energy, a lot of times throughout most of these episodes I talk about one quote in particular by Albert Einstein, everything is energy. And that's all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is physics. So energy is energy. Right? And our thoughts are energy. And the way our mind is wired, when we're not in an energetically elevated space, we start to collect evidence to support kind of the lower vibrational pole and feel that we're resonating at. So I like to look at the year and celebrate the wins not criticized not go all why didn't I do this, but to actually celebrate these wins and with gratitude, because it elevates my mood elevates my vibration. So goal setting and goal achieving. It's not about getting the goal, it's about becoming the person you want to become. It's about the journey, it's about growth. And so when we can approach goal setting and goal achieving from an already elevated state, uplifting our mood by celebrating the winds, we're going to be in a much better space to create from a space of gratitude. Okay, so I always start there. So that's my recommendation, look at your calendar for the year prior and start writing down a list of things that you accomplished. And what I like to do is I kind of break it down into different sections. I like to think about money and mindset, wealth, mindset and abundance. I like to think about my career, relationships, personal development and personal care, my health and well being. Most mobility I talk about mobility and freedom that that means that you have created your life and your work environment such that if you want to go on that trip or be there for family, you can easily do that. Also, I think about areas such as legacy and giving. And I look at all those areas, you know, how many times did I go out with girlfriends? How

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many times did I take a break? Did I go on a retreat? That how many times did I meditate? What wonderful books that I read? What great experiences that I have with my husband and with friends. Those are all accomplishments, you know, our life isn't isn't meant to be all about work, work, work, work, work, why are we working? Why are we doing this work? Well, it's to live a life of fulfillment and freedom, and live our best lives and give and serve the world using our gifts. So celebrate all those things. It doesn't have to be hard, it doesn't have to be all work. But so I look at that, and I look at those areas, I write a list of them down. And then I just I sit in the feeling of those achievements. It's not that I'm looking in the rearview mirror and expecting to move forward. I'm just simply taking a pause. How often do you do that? You don't need that recognition and validation from anyone else, you can give it to yourself. And it's a beautiful experience when you take the time to do that. But then I start to look at the year. And what were some of my goals at the beginning of the year. And what did I achieve? And where did I miss the mark. And then I reevaluate those goals. Sometimes when we don't reach a goal. It's, maybe it's because it's something we didn't really want to begin with. So I want you to take a look at your goals, if you didn't reach some of them. Were those your goals? Or were they goals for somebody else? Were they things that you said, I should do that I should want that? Or nah, my significant other I know wants me to do that. So I should do that. Right? Sometimes when we set goals like that, those goals don't even belong to us. So there's no inspiration in those goals. So no wonder it feels like you're running around all the bases dragon home base with you. It's laborious, and it's exhausting. And when your paradigm and your old beliefs and old limiting beliefs start to crop up, it's easy for those to sidetrack you, because the that goal was never yours to begin with. So really be honest with yourself. Are these goals my own? Do these goals belong to somebody else? Do these goals energize me? And what do I really, really want? And I want you to sit with that. I want you to think about what is it that you really want. And what I do, and I'm in the process of doing this now is for about a week, I just meditate on it. I'll sit for about 15 to 20 minutes, and I'll get comfortable, I'll take a few deep breaths to relax. I have some music playing in the background. It's just instrumental. And then I'll ask myself, What do I desire? How can I serve? What are my deepest desires, and then I just I get quiet. And I just sit there for about 15 to 20 minutes. And whatever ideas pop into my mind over the course of a week. I jot them down, I don't judge them. It's kind of like I'm creating a shopping list. And it's in each of those areas. You know the career wealth and abundance, relationships, personal development, health and well being how does it feel when I reach these things, and I have these things. So I'm not just thinking of material things that I want to have. I'm thinking about things on an intrinsic level, what fills my cup, what fills my soul? And one of my coaches and mentors and friends Katie Boyd, had a couple of questions, a couple of prompting questions that I thought were brilliant, and I'm going to include them here. Excuse me, when you're looking at your goal, ask yourself, Does this make me feel fulfilled? And just be honest with yourself? Does this make me feel fulfilled? And does this goal align with my purpose? That's another question to ask yourself.

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If you're if you know what your purpose is, and so if you don't, then I would use this exercise to get clear on how can I serve? What is my purpose, ask that question and let some ideas bubble up. And over the course of a week or two, just jot down ideas that are just coming from your heart. But it's not an intellectual process. It's a heart process. And then how do these goals help other people? And there's research about this when you tie your goal to other people and how it's going to benefit them. You are much more apt to reach those goals and stick with it. It's kind of like the equivalent of having a y. So that's how you start to reevaluate your goals and that's the process that I'm going through right now. So again, think about those areas Career, Money, mindset, wealth and abundance, relationships, your personal development, how are you caring for yourself, your health and well being, your mobility, meaning your freedom, and your ability to do things when you want to connect with people, when you want to go on that trip, when you want to serve and help family when you want to think about your legacy, how can I serve others. And another one that I didn't say earlier, is, what experiences do I want to have? Do I want to create, because when you're living your best life, and you are fully present, and you're grounded in your joy, and you're enthused about life, and how you're giving, you're not only living your best life, but you're creating this ripple effect, even if you're not deliberately leaving a legacy somewhere, or giving to a cause, which I think is very important, you are leaving a legacy, you're impacting everyone around you. So don't forget to include that in your vision. Think about all of those areas. What would you like to have, if I could wave a magic wand? What would you have in as a part of your life? And we're gonna start this, this process today. But every single day, I want you this week, to sit quietly for about 15 to 20 minutes, and just ask, How can I serve? What do I desire? What is my purpose, and then just quietly sit and listen to your intuition guide you and keep a notebook with you. And when ideas bubble up, usually ideas will come either in that moment when you're relaxed, or when you're in the shower. Or when you're taking a walk or working out when you're most relaxed, and you're not cluttering your mind with, you know, the emails and the news and Facebook and social media and all of that. So have a notebook handy or have a note app on your phone at the ready, so that you can compile all these ideas when they when they come. But what I also want you to do, because we're going to get into this next week, is I also want you to listen to the inner voice of dissent, that inner critic, okay, so when you start writing down things that you want to be do or have or have as a part of your life. Listen to that inner voice of criticism. How is that possible? You don't have time for that? Do you have the money to invest in that, who's going to help you you've never done that before. Don't judge that inner critic, have a separate sheet of paper where you're writing those thoughts down? That is your paradigm bubbling up. And we're going to address that next week in the context of letting go. And forgiving because you can't welcome in the new until you let go of the old I've said this before I think about my my closet, I can't welcome new clothes now in you know, in the 2000s, when I had a closet full of clothes from the 80s, even though they're back in style, again, there's no room. So you've got to get clear the mental clutter in your mind. And we're going to start that this week. But I also want you to get clear on what are some of the things you want in your life? And what are some of those thoughts that are not serving you that are bubbling up for you. Those are the things that we're going to start to let go of next week. But let's get into our mind right now let's start dreaming and I want to take you on a guided visualization. And it's how we end every one of our rat race reboot, exercises and sessions. So just take a deep breath in through your nose

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and exhale fully and completely. Take a deep inhale and exhale, releasing any signs of tension in the body.

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Take one more deep inhale through the nose. Hold it and exhale slowly, fully and completely. And I want you to bring to mind someday in the future. You're living your best life ever. It's the life you've always dreamed of. Notice what you're wearing, maybe take a gaze down at your feet. And see in your mind's eye Your shoes, scanning up your body slowly noticing what you're wearing on your legs, your torso, taking a look down at your hands, noticing the minds in your fingers if you look around you and your surroundings and you notice who's around you. Maybe reach out to touch something or give someone a hug. But just notice what you're experiencing right now. The sights, the sounds, the temperature of the air on your skin, taking it all in through your five senses. But this is you living your best life serving and giving the way you've always wanted to. What are you doing? How does it feel being you right now? This is your life, the life you created. Take it all in bringing it in to focus. And as more detail enters into the picture, just write those things down. You're just getting more clarity on what's possible for you. That's your intuition guiding you. Who do you want to be? Welcome back, everyone. This starts the process for you. So work on that every week. Be mindful of the voice of dissent, that inner critic that creeps in sometimes when we least expect it. And take note of that as well. And we're going to talk a little bit more deeply about that next week where we talk about forgiveness and letting go. If you enjoyed today's episode, share it with a friend. Follow us on whatever platform you listen to podcast on subscribe to YouTube. Leave your comments I read those leave a five star review because it pushes this out to more and more people. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week. And remember, everything is created twice, first in your mind, and then in physical form. I'll see you next week.

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The views and opinions expressed by the hosts guests or callers of this program do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the studio 21 podcast cafe, the United Podcast Network its partners or affiliates.