“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined.”
Do you remember the day that you graduated from high school or college? How did preparing for graduation make you feel?
I remember when I was a senior in high school and it was getting close to graduating. For my senior year, I spent as much time as possible with my friends, but also anticipated what the next year had in store for me. College, living away from home, and taking all the classes that I wanted was so appealing, but I didn’t realize how life changing it would be. In a good way, of course.
It was not easy transitioning from high school to the next step of my life. In fact, many days in my first year at college I wanted to move to be closer to my friends or maybe go to another college where all of my friends were. I was one of the very few that went to my university. It was all so new and unpredictable. But as in all of our lives, we have changes that happen. We have milestones that change us for the better and help us to grow into the person we were meant to be. Graduating from high school is one of those milestones that brings about positive growth and change.
In reality we have all kinds of “graduations,” so-to-speak, in our lives. I am well out of school, but I would say that I still like to celebrate my successes in my business and life the same way I celebrated my accomplishments of graduating from high school. Each of these milestones brings new challenges, but even more importantly, it brings new life discoveries about ourselves. We start to learn what we are capable of.
When was your last “graduation” moment? When was the last time you celebrating an accomplishment, big or small?
As I am going through the photos from my senior sessions last year, I think about happy I am for these students and the adventures they are about to go on. It makes me smile to think of the possibilities they have in front of them and the opportunities they are about to be a part of to create and grow in their own future. When I was a high school teacher, my absolute favorite part of working with my students was when they would talk about what they wanted to be when they grew up, their hopes and dreams, and how they planned to get there. That hasn’t changed, and I often wish we could all have that same excitement for the next chapter in our lives as the seniors I work with do for life beyond graduation. And why can’t we? Who’s stopping us from celebrating our milestones and victories in life? Nobody, that’s who.
Think about where you are in life. What are you working toward now? Is there a big goal that you are reaching for in the next month? Next year? Mark your calendar a week after you would like to achieve that goal. That date is now your own mini graduation party for your goal. And even if you don’t complete the whole goal, you are going to keep that party because how much closer are you to accomplishing that goal than you were a month or a year ago? A ton closer, and that should still be celebrated.
What goal are you going to celebrate this year?
For my high school seniors, I wish you the best in all that you do and your next adventure. For all of my creative business friends, I wish you the best in reaching your goals and setting up your own ‘graduation’ party to celebrate your progress. You got this. This is a beautiful life with many possibilities, let’s celebrate the moments both big and small, because you, my friend, deserve to be celebrated.
