The Lost Art of Celebration: Congratulations to all the New Graduates Out There

Friday was my daughter's last day of high school. Before she headed off to school in the morning we took her picture out in front of our house just like we did on her first day of kindergarten. The time with her sprinted right past us and she will head off to college next fall. In honor of her graduation, last night we celebrated the end of high school with all of her many dear friends and their families, congratulating the new grads on their successes, and cheering them on as they move on to their next adventures.

This is not my daughter. I just liked the picture.

Now that the last test is over and you are about to grab that diploma, don't forget to go all out celebrating. In a culture like ours, with a strong work ethic, celebration can feel like an interruption. We don't like to pause. We finish one project and look for the next one. I remember graduating from law school on a Saturday morning, then starting my new job on Monday morning. We sometimes take our accomplishments for granted as if completing them is just a foregone conclusion.

Time with these loved ones reminded me that celebrating an accomplishment is not only fun and creates shared memories, it is a vital part of a process of reaching our goals. We start with a goal, we plan a path to success, we execute the plan with hard work. Celebration puts an exclamation point on the completion of our goals. It re-energizes us, and gives us confidence and motivation to start the process again and move on to even greater things. Without it we burn out and lose motivation.

So to all the new grad out there. Congratulations! You have completed a very challenging goal. Before you set out for the next one, stop and savor the moment. Reward yourself with a great celebration of what you have done!