Celebrating wins: Some of my highlights during the month of April were receiving the best annual review and compensation increase I have ever received in my nearly 6 year career, being chosen to go on a business trip that turned out to be everything my soul needed, getting my hair straightened for the first time in years, purchasing a luxury bag I've had my eyes on for months, and most importantly celebrating 3 years of marriage with my husband because life is nothing without relationships!
Reflections/ Lessons from April:
- Seasons of fruitfulness are always preceded by seasons of rain: I've been working hard throughout my entire career, but working nights (which I have been doing since August) is a new level of hard that took a toll on my body. Working nights also came with longer hours which honestly made me feel burnt out sometimes. So being recognized for my excellence and hard work in the form of a positive annual review and pay raise was deeply satisfying because it took a lot of sacrifice, grit, and determination to get to the place I'm in today. So if you feel like you have been putting in work towards whatever goal you have and you're not seeing results, trust and believe that your time is coming and it will be glorious!
- Celebrate every win: It's easy to be so focused on achieving big goals that we forget to pause and enjoy the milestones along the way. While I'm still working towards and waiting on my next promotion, I can still celebrate every win along the way like my review, raise, being acknowledged for my leadership by my peers, superiors, etc. I even celebrate being able to get 8 hours of sleep on my days off and 7 hours of sleep on a work day because the little things make such a huge difference in our well-being.
- You deserve nice things: I often tell my husband and friends that I'm going to buy a luxury bag when I get promoted to reward myself. However, I've started to realize that we don't need to wait for a special occasion to treat ourselves. I had my eye on the Coach Pillow Tabby 26 as soon as it came on the scene but told myself I should not be spending $500 on a bag when I have rent, daycare and personal savings goals to think about. The truth is that housing expenses, childcare costs and my savings goals are not going away anytime soon and I can afford to splurge $500 on a bag because I work hard and I deserve it. When I asked my husband if I should buy the bag he said: "You work hard for your money, you literally sacrifice sleep to earn your money so you might as well enjoy it". Now, I didn't need my husband's permission to buy the bag but just knowing he supported my purchase made it easier for me to treat myself. So treat yourself every once in a while or whenever you feel like it and have the means to do so!
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