Summary In this episode, the host discusses the importance of celebrating achievements and milestones along the way. She shares a story about a woman dealing with complicated grief and how therapy and celebrating small goals helped her. The host also highlights the characteristics of the Gen X generation and their tendency to downplay achievements. She emphasizes the benefits of celebrating, such as boosting morale and self-confidence. The episode concludes with the meaning of the song 'Nine Ladies Dancing,' which represents joy and celebration.
Takeaways
Celebrate your achievements and milestones along the way.
Recognize the importance of therapy in dealing with complicated grief.
Gen Xers tend to downplay their achievements, but it's important to celebrate them.
Celebrating small goals boosts morale, self-confidence, and motivation.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Setting the Topic
00:29 Story of Complicated Grief
01:16 Intensive Therapy and Celebrating Goals
02:09 Characteristics of Gen X
03:09 Benefits of Celebrating Achievements
04:06 Reflecting on Past Accomplishments and Setting Goals
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Speaker 1:
You're listening to the what Women Want Today podcast. If you love the idea of being part of a community of women who are looking to thrive, not just survive, you're in the right place. Join hosts Terry Cullums and Amanda Keeper each week, as they bring you topics and guests to help you improve your relationships, your health and your emotional and spiritual well-being.
Speaker 2:
Hello and welcome to this, to today's episode of the what Women Want Today podcast. I'm your host, terry Cullums, and today is day nine of the 12 Days of Christmas series that we are working through. Today we are going to talk about celebrating your achievements. So, as we're thinking about the goals that we're setting for 2024, I want you to begin thinking about celebrating achievements along the way.
Speaker 2:
And as I was preparing for today's episode, I remembered a book that I read recently where the woman had the woman in the story had lost someone in a like a complicated relationship. They were kind of in that on and off, they weren't really recognized as a couple in their social circle, and so when he died tragically, her friends and even her family didn't really recognize or understand her grief. Two years after his death, she was still grieving, she still was dealing with trauma and panic attacks, and she finally sought therapy to help her deal with it. The counselor that she saw told her she had something called complicated grief. So she began an intensive therapy where every day she had daily assignments to help her work through some of her triggers and her trauma, and she also had to pick out something that she would use to celebrate it when she actually hit that goal, that assignment that she had for the day. They didn't have to be complicated things. Sometimes they were very simple things like taking a walk on the beach or going to get a pedicure, or going out for a cup of coffee with a friend, or reading part of a good book that she was trying to read.
Speaker 2:
So, as I'm thinking about this, I'm thinking about you and how you might fall into the scope of the audience that listens to the podcast. So most likely, you're a Gen Xer like me, and here's some things that we know about Gen X. We are referred to as the forgotten or invisible generation. We are the first generation to be known as latchkey kids. We were the least parented and the least nurtured generation. There is a likelihood that we are looking after both our parents and our children, and we were born at the same time when women more women began working out of the home, technology started changing and divorce rates were on the rise.
Speaker 2:
So I'm not telling you this as an excuse for us to forego celebrating our achievements and accomplishments and our milestones. What I'm wanting to do, rather, is point out our tendencies to maybe downplay your achievements or not celebrate the accomplishments. There are so many benefits to taking the time and setting the time aside to celebrate our small achievements. It boosts morale, gives you a positive mental outlook. Some studies even show that it may be more beneficial to celebrate your small achievements along the way than to wait to the end and celebrate the big one. Celebrating motivates us to continue on our path. It shows us that we're capable and boosts our self-confidence and self-esteem. It even helps us recognize our own level of resilience.
Speaker 2:
So, as you're thinking about setting your goals and your accomplishments for the year, I would like you to take a moment to do two things, or take a few moments to do two things. Take some time to reflect on your past accomplishments and ask yourself did you celebrate them? Did you wait till the very end or did you celebrate the small steps and milestones that you reached along the way? And, number two, also take some time to write out a list of the things that you would do to celebrate those achievements along the way. I mean, I don't have a beach near me, but I would definitely love to celebrate by walking on the beach.
Speaker 2:
I hope, if your intention is to set some goals for 2024, you will think about some milestones in your journey and celebrate them along the way. You definitely deserve it, and I'll wrap up today's episode by giving you the meaning of the nine ladies dancing and this is the first time that the reflection for today and the meaning of the song actually corresponds with the topic, so kind of excited about that. The meaning of nine ladies dancing represents joy and celebration. So today I encourage you to celebrate achievements and find joy in your journey, and that's all I have for you today. Make it a great day. I look forward to being here with you again tomorrow. Take care, amanda. I don't know if this ever happens to you, but I sometimes will learn something really cool on a podcast, on a YouTube video, audiobook, whatever. I think I'm going to remember it and then I forget. Does that ever happen to you?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I call it brain after 40 all the time.
Speaker 2:
That's what we'll officially call it, but we've come up with something. Do you want to introduce it?
Speaker 3:
Sure, it's from an app called Quick Jim Quick, and it's an acronym called FAST.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, and the F stands for Facebook. So we're inviting you officially right now to come over and join us on Facebook. Get involved with the community, share your favorite episodes with your friends on Facebook.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, the A is go ahead and take an action, so you can't remember anything if you don't act.
Speaker 2:
And S is for subscribe. Make sure you're subscribed to our YouTube channel.
Speaker 3:
And then T is teach. Teach what you've learned to somebody else. Share the love.
Speaker 2:
All right, we hope that works for you. Thank you for joining us. We'll see you next week.