Today marks my second business birthday. I can’t quite believe Moon & Mountain is 2 years old. Equally, it seems like a lifetime ago that I was in an employed role (and now I can’t imaging not working for myself).
As I reach this milestone in my business, I’m reflecting on the role of celebration along the way.
Do you take time to reflect and celebrate in your life, career, or business? How?
It’s something that I fiercely advocate for my clients and continuously build into my workshops, events, and coaching sessions. I ask people to reflect on proud moments, I invite people to share their successes, I ask for evidence of greatness. And as they do, I cheerlead. I rejoice. I congratulate.
I know the power of this pause. And the benefits of acknowledging change / input / impact can bring. I see, as backs straighten, smiles appear, breaths are audibly exhaled, how it can boost confidence, connect teams, and shift old and unhelpful beliefs.
Celebrating our progress can be just the evidence our brains need to start rewiring new and constructive thoughts that help us move from stuck to soaring.
But honestly, I really struggle to do this for myself.
Why do I find this so tricky?
When I contemplate personal celebration, I come face to face with what I heard from my upbringing - ‘no one likes a show off’ is a line I remember very well indeed. So I’d learned to equate celebrating with showing off and therefore losing favour or friends.
And as someone who relied heavily on friendships as my support system whilst I navigated a turbulent home life growing up, this is high risk. No wonder it’s felt more comfortable, safer, and more rewarding to celebrate other people instead.
More recently, as I’ve been working on my money mindset and uncovering my money archetypes, I’ve learned that I have the tendency to set lofty goals, often with shifting goal posts, and am rarely satisfied with my efforts. I am a harsh self-critic to say the least. This can mean I don’t naturally take the time to pause and celebrate but will instead move onto the next thing.
So for me to reap these positive benefits, I have to be really conscious and concerted in my efforts to pause, reflect, and praise myself. Finding the times and spaces that work for me to do this. And I also have to push through old and uncomfortable feelings when I share my wins with other people.
It doesn’t come naturally, so I have to put a bit of thought and energy behind it.
I’ve tested out a number of ways to do this over the last year.
Some things were small, but noticeable to me (such as a little dance around my office or making myself a particularly lovely hot chocolate after finishing something I’d put a lot of energy into).
Sometimes I shared publicly with others what had gone well (when I’ve felt brave, I’ve added my weekly wins in an online networking group I’m part of).
Throughout the year, I’ve marked the start or completion of contracts with a drink or meal out with my husband.
And some of the things I’ve done to reflect and celebrate have taken significant investment (like a week-long personal and business growth retreat in Spain).
I guess even this blog is a way!
The common theme of all of these is the deliberate intention behind them. The conscious endeavour to slow down and notice that I did something, felt something, or gained something that is important to me.
And that’s the crux of this. It’s celebrating what feels important. Whatever the method we use to celebrate, the really important thing is that we do it consciously, and with an awareness of why that is to be celebrated.
I spent so long fearing what it might say or portray about me if I was seen to celebrate, that I lost the focus on why I would want to celebrate certain things in the first place.
Reasons like:
I helped someone explore something challenging by holding a safe space.
I guided people to clarity during that workshop and now they have a plan for more positive social impact.
I held strong financial boundaries and charged a fee that reflects my skills and doesn't make me feel resentful.
I saw a way through complexity that freed someone who had been stuck for a long while.
I ran that event and it helped someone see their greatest strengths when others had labelled them as weaknesses.
I trained as a money mindset mentor and am now helping other women feel more empowered and in control.
Knowing what, fundamentally, really matters shows us the things we each feel are worth celebrating. And the more attention we give them, the more they are likely to show up. And the more they show up, the more we fill our lives with the things that matter. Now that’s worth celebrating!
So as I mark Moon & Mountain’s second birthday, I am reflecting, consciously and with much pride, on the enormous growth I’ve created for myself and my business this year. The wonderful clients I’ve had the pleasure to work alongside. The peers, colleagues, and dear friends who have advised, supported, and encouraged me. And my husband, Mike, who has always been the first to cheer me on when I’m not ready to do it for myself.
Happy birthday Moon & Mountain. Here’s to many more to come.
Be part of it - find out how we can work together.
Holly x
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