I can clearly recall sitting in my kindergarten class, learning about goal setting, what that meant, how to set them, and why it was a great habit to get into. Being the exceptional student that I was (I’m being facetious but not really), I listened, I learned, I implemented, and never thought twice about the act of goal setting after that. It was a habit that I learned to practice and master as the years went by both in and out of school. Today, post college, I continue to set goals. In fact, I set yearly goals or what most of us call New Year’s Resolutions, I set quarterly goals for my business, I create weekly goals and even daily goals, what many of us call to-do lists. I love them really, and they help keep me grounded, focused and moving in the direction I know I want to go in. Once I’ve achieved a goal, it also gives me a great sense of motivation and accomplishment. The practice of goal setting is something that was drilled into us all throughout school. Even at home, my mom would encourage me to get my chores done in a certain amount of time for a reward. As I’ve gotten older, I feel like goal setting gets a little bit more, well, intense. Find a good job, make more money each year, find a husband, have kids, buy a house, pay off student loans and the list goes on and on. These are all perfectly legitimate goals, some of which are definitely on my own list in one form or another. These goals take time and hard work to accomplish. In fact, some of them take a LOT of time and endless amounts of work to achieve. So what happens to us as we get caught up in the bigger picture? When we become so long term focused and we play into the idea that each and every day counts towards each of those goals? We forget to acknowledge a lot of the little things we accomplish. I’m not encouraging you to get a trophy and t-shirt made every time you vacuum the house (unless that floats your boat then go right ahead, this is a judge-free zone), but what I am encouraging you to do is acknowledge the small things you do that are so second nature, we don’t even think twice about them anymore! We are amazingly brilliant and hard-working people. We manage family, work, friends, living spaces, school, exercise, cooking, coupon cutting, plant watering, voicemail listening, gas pumping and ALL of the other life things that we jam pack into each and every single day. That’s a HUGE deal! Acknowledge all of those things you do that help run your life. The things that help keep your family functioning and happy or maybe that help you make the workplace a more successful environment. Pat yourself on the back for all of those things you do that feel like obligation and responsibility and remember that everything you do is because you choose to do it. You have committed, maintained, and upheld the things you know need to happen and that is one hell of an accomplishment. Acknowledging the small things it takes to get to the larger picture will make the journey that much more enjoyable and memorable. As they, stop and smell the roses. Be conscious of the process allow yourself to feel accomplished for things you overlook today. We are people. We are busy. We are magnificent. So go eat a chocolate, do a dance, and brag about all the little shit you do, including reading blogs that make you smile! Rock on awesome humans. Rock on.