How do you reward yourself for your hard work?

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Jump for joy, dance up a frenzy, tap yourself on the back – you deserve it!

In order to keep your spirits rejuvenated for the long haul, it’s important to take time out and stay away from the grind, even for a short while.

It’s even more important to reflect on the year that was. What went right, what went pear-shaped, areas of improvement, and then celebrate yourself for showing up for it all.

And the habit of paying attention to the different parts of your life means that we need to acknowledge that encouragement plays an important role in our lives. That as the emotional beings that we are, the way we feel about ourselves and our efforts has an impact on how well we perform, and ultimately, how we live.

Below are pointers on why it’s essential to place value on your daily actions, and a few ideas you can use to start acknowledging yourself more:

An opportunity to train the mind to love productivity

By giving yourself rewards every time you land a win, your mind learns to associate positive emotions (happiness, pride, confidence) with applying effort and diligence.

After a long enough time, the brain will naturally read productivity as a fun pursuit. This is also a great way to develop positive/helpful mental habits and become a valuable person all round.

Major wins are made up of smaller ones

Try this idea out: at the end of each day, write down your top five (or less) accomplishments. It doesn’t matter how big or seemingly unimportant they are. Example: waking up early enough to hit the gym, plan the day out and prepare for work without hurrying is a feat worthy to celebrate.

Especially if you have consistently struggled to get it done before.

Your reward for achieving a fluid and productive day as a result might be working from your favourite coffee spot for a full day. Or perhaps a visit to a wellness center for a body massage and wind down.

Increases your level of self-awareness

When you’re actively looking for opportunities to improve and then reward that improvement, your self-awareness can only getter sharper with time.

As you grow into the habit of celebrating even your smallest victories, you’re likely to think and reflect deeply on your daily activities and how they contribute into your life.

And when you consistently write down the details of your daily activities as suggested above, you’ll have a collection of notes that act as a personal development roadmap, filled with varied lessons — from time management to self-love.

Reward yourself to inspire better emotional health

There’s a bigger impact on you when, for example, you decide to take a weekend getaway trip as a gift for your impressive performance in your studies this year.

For one, such acts of kindness and self-care draw you closer towards yourself. As a result, you begin to nurture a tender/more considerate relationship with yourself. And conversely, when you inevitably make mistakes, you’ll be in an advantageous position to quickly pick them up, openly acknowledge them and then rectify.

This is possible when you practice self-awareness on a daily basis. When there’s a need, you take full accountability for your actions.

What begins as an exercise to focus on rewarding your personal efforts may end up helping you develop other helpful habits. Because as the saying goes: “The way you do anything is the way you do everything.”