Before the Next Goal
Why reflection and celebration belong in your growth process
As a kid, when I first learned about soccer, I laughed at how the announcer will dramatically stretch out the word GOAAAALLL when a team finally scores. Like okay, we see that. Keep going. There’s no need to be that extra!
But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Goals in soccer don’t happen often. It takes sustained effort to move the ball all the way down the field and past the goalie. That moment deserves celebration.
Honestly, I wish we took that same approach with our personal development goals.
It’s often that we’ll meet a goal and then quickly move on to the next one, putting our head down and charging forward at full speed.
But have you taken any time at all to just celebrate that win?
I mean, you don’t have to yell GOAAALLL for ten seconds (unless you just want to. Your dog might look at your crazy but you have free will!) but what is a meaningful way for you to acknowledge the wins you’ve had?
What’s funny is that I originally wanted to write an article to deep dive into what I’ve learned from positive psychology about constructing new goals to share tips and tricks with you.
But I can’t shake the feeling that for some people, creating new goals isn’t what they need right now. What they need is to give themselves credit and acknowledgment for what they’ve already done.
Because even when we set new goals, we tend to worry about achieving them. Our minds fill with doubts about the journey it will take to reach success.
However.
If you’ve done your due diligence to celebrate each win, including each milestone, it becomes easier to remember your progress. And when you can remember your progress, it’s easier to believe that even with new challenges ahead, you can achieve what you set out to do.
So let me ask you this:
What did you do in 2025?
What are you proud of?
What obstacles did you push through?
And don’t just list the big wins. List the small ones. The incremental wins. The milestone moments.
Because those wins required effort too as with any choice you make.
You could have given up.
You could have let fear take over.
You didn’t have to do the work.
But you did. And that took discipline. It took persistence. It took pushing through doubts and worries even when it would have been easier not to. Those wins deserve acknowledgment as well.
Now here’s the next step. Once you’ve listed your wins, take a moment to list the outcomes.
What changed because of them?
What improved?
What impact did your effort have on you or on others?
Those outcomes are the evidence that your work mattered.
Let’s say one of your goals was to earn a certification by the end of the year.
You reached out to others for insight and advice.
You structured a study plan.
You set boundaries to protect your study time.
You found a way to pay for the exam (because let’s be honest, those exams can be crazy expensive).
Then you blocked time, showed up, and passed.
There were several wins in that process. Passing the exam wasn’t the only one.
Look at the impact.
Reaching out for insight and advice took courage. It required admitting you didn’t know everything and asking for help. Many people avoid that level of humility but you didn’t.
Creating a study plan took discipline and self-honesty. You had to assess what you didn’t yet know, decide what to prioritize, and follow through. That plan is what prepared you for the exam.
Setting boundaries to study required assertiveness. You told people “no” to ensure you had time to study. You managed your time intentionally. And not just boundaries with others but boundaries with yourself. You made a promise and honored it.
Finding a way to pay for the exam required responsibility and initiative. Maybe your employer covered it and if so, that’s a result of trust you’ve already built. (And for the record as someone that works in HR, remember that if there’s ever a professional development opportunity you’re interested in, always ask if there’s budget for your company to pay for it. Many times, there is!)
And if you paid out of pocket, that was still money you worked to earn and chose to invest in yourself.
And then, you passed.
You passed.
GOOOOOOAAAALLLLLLL!
That’s a big deal.
All of those steps played a role in that outcome. And now you have something you can place on your résumé. Something that can support a promotion, a new job, or at the very least confirm that you do have the expertise you worked for. Sometimes that confirmation in itself can feel so good!
That’s a lot to be proud of.
And yet, so many people pass the exam and move on to the next goal the very next day, without ever pausing to celebrate.
And in case you didn’t know, it’s me.
I’m people.
I have definitely fallen into this trap of always feeling the need to accomplish something great and rarely spending much time appreciating what I’ve accomplished. Even when other people would exclaim at what I’ve achieved, I’d just say “oh I just be doing stuff” in a bashful way.
Naw, I needed to stand in that!
Stand in what you’ve accomplished. Accept the compliments and congratulations from people. Soak it all in. Celebrate yourself. Reflect on what you did and how you got here. What are your lessons learned? What would you do differently moving forward and what would you continue to do? Be thoughtful and intentional to do these things BEFORE going to the next thing.
If you do this, not only will you feel better about yourself and your progress giving your confidence and self-esteem that extra boost, but you will also ensure that you’re approaching your goals in a healthy manner. That it’s a journey to be experienced and learned from not a hamster wheel to go as fast as you can to get it out of the way to go to the next thing.
Life is meant to be experienced not sprinted through. That includes your achievements.
So don’t speed past your wins. Slow down. Take a stroll. Cherish them. Soak in the joy. Be mindful of what it took to get there. This is a form of gratitude, and it matters more than we realize. When you take time to acknowledge your progress, you build momentum without burning yourself out.
I hope you take some time to truly give yourself credit for all you’ve done in 2025 and maybe even turn that into a regular practice, not something you save for the end of the year. I’ve started doing this daily, using journal prompts I created just for myself, and I’ve already noticed a shift. My peace of mind is higher. My contentment feels steadier.
So pause for a moment. How are you going to celebrate your wins consistently?
Whatever you choose, let it be intentional. Your effort and energy deserve that kind of care.
Warmly with a cup of tea,
Rachel
