I am all about setting specific goals, however it’s way too easy to get caught up in the final destination or goal. I am here today to tell you to celebrate the small steps. Behind every big step you take or goal that you hit there are a bunch of small steps you took to get to that place. 

I will be the first to raise my hand and say that I’ve spent most of my life chasing down goals and deadlines. When I was in middle school I was so focused on getting amazing grades because my future depended on it. I spent most of my time outside of school studying. When I finally hit high school, I definitely had to get good grades if I wanted to get into a good college. Also, what did I want to go to college for!?!?!? I had to decide!

After college I had a plan. I wanted to get married and buy a house. Everything would be amazing right!?!? Once I hit one milestone, I was already barreling full steam ahead towards to next goal without even taking time to enjoy where I was at. I always felt I was running out of time and I never seemed “happy”. This continued until we moved out of the “problem” house.

With every goal you set, there’s a ton of small steps you take in order to get there and those are worth celebrating as well. Our goal right now is to pay off our student loans; each month we establish a budget and every day we make a conscious decision to buy certain items or not. Ever since moving out of our first house, I’ve made it a priority to celebrate both the small and large goals and bring more balance into my life. One month we may do really well on our grocery spending and therefore we will go out for breakfast or lunch and see a movie.

Over the past year I have accumulated dozens of books on my “to-read” list. At the end of February we were able to make an additional payment towards one of the hub’s student loans. I ended up buying 3 books off of that list.

However, not everything runs smoothly and it can be discouraging if you are only focused on your final goal. Yes, you may have some setbacks but what a time to acknowledge the steps you already have taken and enjoy where you are at that moment in time!

Last fall we had to pay to put new tires on the hub’s car. We didn’t hit our monthly saving goal, but rather than get discouraged I was grateful for where we were. I stopped and reflected. We had already saved half of what was needed to pay off a student loan that I made the final payment on in January of this year. We were already so much farther ahead than where we were the year prior when we lived in the “problem” house.

What are some small steps that you can celebrate to keep your motivated and grateful?