Kay:

Hey family, you know Shi and I are all about living the A+ life, but this week we’re talking about being a C student.

Shi:

That’s right and you’ll see what we mean about that here in just a minute. But our guess is you are a forever learner, just like we are, which means you’re often in student mode and student mode usually means you want to achieve your best and do your best. So, us saying, be a C student might sound counterintuitive but what we really mean about that is that we think that you should Celebrate yourself, you should understand that Consistency Compounds, you should really know that Clarity Counts and you should Call It Like It Is, and that’s what we mean by being a C student this week.

Kay:

So, here on installment number one, we’re going to talk about one of our very favorite principles, which is to celebrate yourself. Now, recently we were on a mentorship call with a mentor of ours, and he said that this could be boiled down into the phrase of applaud yourself first.

Shi:

I love this conceptualization of the notion ‘celebrate yourself’ because it helps you understand kind of that metaphorical approach to life, that all of life is a stage or you’re the main character, you’re writing the story of your life as you go. But you should really be your number one cheerleader. You should have that inner knowing and trust of yourself and celebrate yourself which from a neuroscience standpoint actually helps you build the habits and become the person that it is that you want to be.

Kay:

Even if you’re just faking your celebration with your body. Your mind isn’t really in it, but you are going to get there and you’re going to pat yourself on the back and you’re going to pump your fist and say, yes, and you’re going to put a smile on your face even if you don’t feel like it. It releases those celebration hormones and those celebration endorphins inside your brain that help to reinforce whatever it is that you just did. So, if you are that forever achiever, like Shila, just mentioned, chances are–at the end of whatever achievement you have–other people will applaud you. But the secret to sustaining changes in your life is that you are willing to applaud you before other people do.

Shi:

Think about what is it that you do when you’re rooting for a team or rooting for another person? What does that really mean for you? What would you say when they pass that first quarter mile mark? How would you cheer if they finally land the cartwheel they’ve been practicing? You would celebrate with them. You would cheer them on. You would encourage them. You would be all about that positivity and that celebration. Now realizing that you should be the number one person you’re rooting for means that you should be celebrating yourself. So, it can feel like, “Well, isn’t this indulgent and isn’t this just going to feed narcissism in the world?” That’s not what we’re talking about. Not inflated ego. We’re talking about giving yourself praise for accomplishing the behaviors that advance you in the direction of your dreams, goals, and desires.

Kay:

Now play with us for just a second because we are your sisters in celebration. So, talk back to the podcast for us, okay? Just play, okay? We want to just ask you to roll with us for just a moment. So, tell us, what’s some good news that you have going in your life right now? Give us some good news. What’s happening in your life that we can celebrate with you? We’ll give you a quick second to answer. Alright. Yes, you did it! We’re so proud of you!

Shi:

Yes. Oh my gosh. That is incredible. You should be so proud of yourself and we’re so happy for you. Now, doesn’t that feel good?

Kay:

That feels good on so many levels most especially because chances are when we celebrated you, you celebrated yourself just a little bit.

Shi:

Well, you’ve probably got that little smile on your face and even though you know we’re being silly, even if you didn’t say anything during that silent moment, you have things worth celebrating. But you probably suffer from ‘achiever syndrome’ which means the second that you do accomplish something you’re already looking at (a) what’s next and (b) what you could have done better and not taking that C moment to celebrate yourself and really give yourself the recognition for what you have accomplished which then tells your brain, “Hey, do more of that. This is good. Do more of the behavior that resulted in the celebration.” And that’s what really helps you from that neuroscience perspective–build the behaviors and the habits that you want to have over time.

Kay:

Now, if you’re the achiever who always thinks, “What’s next and what could I do better?” One of the things that we have absolutely loved from our mentor, John Maxwell, is that he talks about giving yourself 24 hours to celebrate. Now, this can be a really constructive way of putting a cap on your celebration, so you don’t get too far run away with celebrating yourself, but it also gives you the opportunity to lean in for that 24 hours and know that it’s okay to have those celebratory moments. So, remember, celebrate yourself and next up, we’re going to talk about ‘compounding consistency.’

Shi:

See you there.