IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS . . .

When we think about what impacts achieving our goals, it’s the major factors that come to mind first–the project worth 40%, making the Dean’s List, or conversely, the unpleasant interview with the Dean. Breaking down self-assessment to the more immediate time frame, when we consider what we get done in the day, in the week, we think first and sometimes only of the highest hurdle, of what took the longest or was most challenging. If those are the only achievements we congratulate ourselves for, we’re missing out on a major motivator.

Consider: If you think of bosses or teachers you’ve interacted with, I will bet that, all other things being equal, you found it easier to stay motivated for the boss or the instructor who gave a grin or a positive remark on a regular basis for your effort and work rather than the teacher who waited until handing back a major exam to laud your improved mark. The “Good work on that one, Jay!” means more right after the quiz or the troublesome customer dealt with than does the final grade or the quarterly performance review. Effective teachers and bosses know that whenever you see something positive happening, reward immediately!

Consider: In the matter of the academic effort that takes place behind the scenes at home, there is only one person to consistently hand out praise and celebration. Whether your course instructor is a joy to work with or is a necessary evil, you are the one in control of monitoring and motivating what the worker–that is you–does to get the work done. 

So you can be stingy or generous in highlighting effort and success. Too often, I see students take for granted their performance of the basic tasks of good studentship. Even when they improve their study habits, instead of celebrating the positive change, they’ll beat themselves up for not having made the changes years earlier. If that is you, first, please don’t beat yourself up for doing that. Endorse yourself for recognizing that sometimes you are too hard on yourself!

Endorse? I’ve often said, “Endorse for each effort!” That’s part of the good teachers’ and the good boss’s trilogy: Reinforce for Effort, Reward for Success, and Celebrate the Small Things! 

I hear, “But Steve! I feel silly celebrating something as trivial as getting an assignment handed in on time. I should have been doing that way more often.”

Yes, they should have. And how is making that statement going to improve performance? 

Right. It isn’t. Let’s go back to the workplace, say, a construction site. The goal is Zero accident-related injuries for a year. Every day that there are no accidents, the graph gets coloured in another square–that’s a small celebration, and each worker will look at that with a bit of a lift on the way out. There is no “Well, of course! You guys were such idiots not to be wearing steel-toed boots last year!” If there’s an accident, the graph can start fresh the next day. At the end of the quarter, if accidents are down from last quarter–there’s a celebration. Every day a record is exceeded–that’s a success or a bit of celebration. If there’s a whole year–then a major celebration! But the key to a safer workplace is not the big annual ceremony: It’s the day-to-day self-congratulation of each worker for the observation of safety rules each day, each task.

Similarly, your long-term success over the term hinges on your day-to-day motivation. It’s easy to see how that works on a construction site, but how does it work for academia? You pause at the end of the day, and you reflect. Yes, if corrective action needs to be planned, plan it. But more important for keeping going over the long haul is to reflect on where you moved in the right direction. You did the reading before class? Celebrate the feeling you had in class knowing what the prof was talking about. You used your Pomodoro timer? Celebrate that you’re more disciplined than before you started using it. You juggled resources when the library went offline? Celebrate that you found a workaround. If you noticed a positive trend in results, such as a 5 per cent improvement in weekly quizzes, celebrate with a small treat–a special coffee, a brag call to your family.

Just as the teacher’s or boss’s small immediate accolade moved your spirits up, your positive comments to yourself do much the same thing. If this feels uncomfortable to begin with, that’s likely because celebrating small effort, small accomplishment is not yet a habit.

What it comes down to is this: You are the Boss of You. And you want to be the kind of boss you want to work for, the kind that it’s easy to make a good effort for, the kind of boss that gets results!

When was the last time you celebrated a small thing? Connect with me to share your own challenges and successes here: [email protected]  

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS PLEASE DIAL 911.