Synchronicity! That was what came to mind when Steve forwarded a podcast by Amy Porterfield. It was also in my inbox and I had flagged it to listen. She was interviewing Mel Robbins about her new book the “High 5 Habit”. So of course, I listened, once, twice and then purchased her new book in both the hardback and audible versions (though I am not finished listening to it yet…).
First off, they talk quite a bit in the interview about how we get in our own way of success. I don’t know about you, but I often get right in my own way. How?
Questioning my credentials, second-guessing my actions, and letting my lack of confidence stop me from taking action. It’s a good thing I have a supportive husband, that sometimes, has to kick me in the derrière to put myself out there. I will tell you it felt great listening to some very successful women talk about having struggles too. It is reassuring to know that I am not alone (and neither are you!).
Then Mel Robbins brought up her very simple, but brilliant idea, of giving ourselves a High Five in the mirror every day! She talks about how it is hard to not get pumped when you have a High Five. We High Five each other to celebrate success, to encourage, and to support. Steve and I even High Five when we hit some goals or just when we start working on a project.
What I realized is that I love celebrating others’ success, but rarely to I celebrate my own. I remember being in college and if I did poorly on a test, well that was my fault for not studying hard enough, but when I received a really good grade, I would negate the win. It was easy, I lucked out, etc… I am now much more aware of my natural tendencies to negate positive feedback, but well, I still catch myself doing it. Recently, I was reminded when I was complimented on a job well done to just say “thank you”, instead of explaining how it wasn’t such a big deal.
Worse yet, I often find myself looking at my failures and shortcomings and focus on that, instead of on my strengths and what I have accomplished. I realize that many of you do the same. We see where we fall short, instead of realizing that we have done a lot right.
How often do you celebrate your wins? In life, in business? I am not just talking about the big wins, like getting new distribution or funding but what about the small wins? Do you celebrate daily, for just getting through the day? Do you celebrate completing that production run, making that call to the buyer, or receiving a nice review of your product from a stranger?
We as entrepreneurs (or even just as people…) should be celebrating ourselves every day. You get up and move forward in a world that is not guaranteed, you move forward when faced with challenges, you move forward even when you feel paralyzed (okay for me there is some procrastination in those cases). You are out there facing challenges daily.
Showing up and doing your best needs to be celebrated!
Mel has a five-day, High Five Challenge. I want to challenge you to High Five ‘yourself’ this week. Then let me know how it felt. And if it’s OK to share it! I highly recommend listening to the podcast. The main audience that Amy Porterfield works with is Course and Community creators, but we all know that entrepreneurs in any field face many of the same challenges, especially, when questioning what we are doing.
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