What experiences have you squeezed into a 365-day period? I have had jobs and relationships that have not hit the 365-day mark. Two full semesters of college don’t even take a year. At one point I lived in three different states within the same year. One year, I purchased my first car, my first computer, signed the lease on my first ‘real’ apartment, and moved to a city I had only visited for an interview. One year can contain so much. And yet, it is just one year and one year meshes into two years which quickly looks back and becomes four.
At Luck Companies, we have people who have been working here for longer then I have literally been alive, yet, when I hit my one year mark, we celebrated. One year. 365 days. And it was cause for celebration. Today, a guy at one of our plants is celebrating his 25th year anniversary with Luck Companies, and what are we doing? We are celebrating. 25 years is quite an accomplishment. The only thing I have personally done for 25 years is breathe successfully. He has been working here for 9,125 days and arguably, that is more impressive then my 365 but, we celebrated my one-year anyway.
But, to get to 365 days or 9,125 days, we all have to take it One Day at a Time. When I played tennis in high school I would keep an index card in my tennis bag that said “One Point at a Time.” When I was feeling overwhelmed by the need to win a game, a set, or a match, I would pull out the little index card during water breaks and repeat… “One Point at a Time.” It became my mantra every time I served:
Get my feet in position, “One Point at a Time.”
Bounce the ball twice, “One Point at a Time.”
Toss the ball, “One Point at a Time.”
It helped to focus me on the moment. And before I knew it, a game was over, then the set, then I would be playing match point saying “ONE POINT AT A TIME!!!” It was after that match point when I was able to pump my fist, smile, and reflect on the match.
But in life, sometimes we can get too focused on the “One Day at a Time” thought process. Because what is really the difference between 364 days, 365 days, or 366 days? We need to set our own match points so we know when we should pump our fist, reflect, and celebrate our success. Maybe it is a year, maybe it is a month, maybe we need to celebrate the success of getting through a day.
I am very lucky that my team took a few moments out of our meeting to celebrate my success of a year into my experience at Luck Companies. If they hadn’t, I am not sure I would have. 365 days has been a long match and during that time I grew tremendously. Since our team celebration, I have taken time to reflect on that progress and development and that reflection has helped to formalize the experiences and learning.
So, whether you use the upcoming New Year as an opportunity to celebrate your success or you find a monumental moment to reflect and pump your fist- I recommend you do it. And do it often. And while you are pumping your fist, invite coworkers and friends to pump their fist with you.
How do you celebrate moments, big or small? We would love to hear about your experiences below!
