Happy Dance

One of the 7 Steps for Organizing your Digital Life that I have laid out previously is the “Happy Dance.” To be clear, the Happy Dance is a celebration or at least a recognition of the things you have accomplished. Happy Dances are not always ticker-tape parades; sometimes they can be as simple as walking out of a meeting where they offered you a job, and you give yourself a congratulatory fist bump. The reason that I say that this should be apart of your organizational process is that you need to be able to celebrate your accomplishments. If all we did all day long were work hard and not take time to reflect on how far we’ve come, then there would be no sense of accomplishment.

 

I mention this because I am currently doing a happy dance of my own for a project that I have been working on for a while. Jason Love Files has been an idea in my head for years, but I’d not previously had the motivation to turn this idea into reality. Earlier this year I took part in a coaching Program called Own Your Strength. It’s a program that was started by my former personal trainer, Rachel Henry. Own Your Strength started off as her Blog talking about how Physical fitness can change your life and the everyday struggles that She goes through as a trainer. She’s since turned her holistic knowledge of health into a coaching program where she helps people meet their physical and lifestyle goals.

 

For me, the Physical goal was being able to do a 5KM run. Rachel and I worked through my plans to get myself trained up, and I was able to do it. If you recall my post from a couple of months ago my Case Study in Organization – Running was essentially my victory dance for being able to do the run that I did.

 

For the Lifestyle aspect, we primarily focused on getting this blog up and running. It was an excellent experience for me because setting up my blog with a mentor forced me to make progress on what I set out to do. Previously, like many ideas that pass through my head, I would think to myself “That’s a great Idea, which I’ll get to next year.” Being involved in Own Your Strength made it so that I had to progress with the goal of setting up this blog because I had someone there to keep me accountable!

 

When we started, She and I sat down, and right out the gate, she set hard deadlines for both my run and the launch of Jason Love Files. I’m willing to admit that I suggested one-time frame, and Rachel suggested a time frame that cut mine in half. When my eyebrows shot up, and I went to a particular shade of white that I didn’t think was possible, her only response was “That Settles it! This is your goal time.” She also said something along the lines of “if it doesn’t scare you a little, it’s probably not worth doing,” a sentiment I have since taken to heart.

 

I had calls with her every week in which we discussed my progress as well as setting new weekly goals. The calls were great because they kept me focused on the task at hand and kept me motivated to complete my weekly assignments. Having someone who held me accountable, also having someone who was also a blogger guide me through the initial setup of blogging was helpful.

 

The reason I’m doing MY victory dance these days is that last Thursday I got over 1,000 views on this blog! I’m so excited that so many people have looked at what I have written. I have also received a few comments left by my readers, and I am thrilled that people are following my blog and have subscribed to my newsletter. For those things alone I’m incredibly grateful.

 

One of the other things that Rachel challenged me to do was to build a social media platform. Brace yourself for some shameless self-promotion in 3…2…1… If you’re reading this and you haven’t found me through social media, you can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and twitter @jasonlovefiles.

 

It’s essential to have a victory dance when you’ve accomplished a task. It not only allows you the ability to acknowledge what you’ve done but also celebrate your accomplishment. Even if it’s just for a moment, taking time to recognize what you’ve done is a way for you to reflect on your accomplishments. Acknowledging your achievements is a way for you to realize how much hard work you’ve put into it. This can lead you to have pride in your work.

 

Not being one to rest on my laurels, I’m in the process of writing more posts to help you Organize Your Digital Life, including what to do with your trash, How to conquer your Calendar, and when to start a digital filing system, and tips on how. In the meantime, you should check out Rachel’s blog Own Your Strength (hyperlink). She’s a great writer and a fantastic person. It has been my privilege to be involved in her program, and I feel like she is going to be a great success… and I certainly hope that she can gain some insight on Organizing her Digital Life.

 

Have you ever achieved something that was worth a happy dance?