Make Your Own Milestone 🏆

There’s a level of professional enlightenment that I, frankly, have not reached.

It’s understanding that the process can be just as meaningful, if not more so, than the product. That instead of continually chasing the next promotion, award, or other extrinsic measure of value, it can be enough just to do the work and keep going. I'm reminded of Andrea Faye Hart's advisor who told her: "It sounds like you're moving from a space of doing to being."

In my heart, I know I should try to enjoy the ride as much as the milestones. But my head just can’t seem to leave my eldest daughter, honors student thinking behind: that if I’m not achieving, I’m not doing anything worthwhile.

So, I cheat.

Make Your Own Milestone

To be fair, we don’t work in a system that tends to reward presence over performance. But we can still acknowledge our efforts with this simple act: make your own milestone.

Interestingly, when I asked for award categories that reward effort on LinkedIn, a number of the suggestions focused on the unseen burdens we carry, or the necessary work of supporting ourselves that too often gets cast aside in the name of productivity:

• "How about one for the hidden and misunderstood people. The ones carrying secret burdens in plain sight, operating in a work world not built for them: caregiving, chronic pain, neurodivergence, marginalization, divorce, grief, recovery, and so much more. The quiet warriors."
• "An award to a journalist practicing self care."
• "How about an award for self-advocacy? Not self-promoting, not ladder-climbing, but recognition of listening to and advancing towards one's actual needs, regardless of how that looks to outsiders."

Immediate rewards, rather than waiting to cross the finish line, increase our interest and enjoyment in tasks, researchers have found. It makes us more likely to want to keep going, even once the reward is removed. And in a market where it often feels like we're only worth as much as our last major achievement, recognizing that effort itself deserves acknowledgement is a small act of self-sustaining rebellion.

Your worth is not determined only by what you do, but also how you do it. Self-care, standing up for what's right, stepping back to keep showing up – these acts of courage and kindness can be rewarding in themselves. How can you celebrate yourself today, so you can keep plugging away tomorrow?

Happy navigating,
Bridget