Brownie Points

A sure recipe for success, wouldn’t that be wonderful to have? Especially at this time of year! For me to know what you need do to be successful is a personal matter. You need to know what keeps you motivated and on track as well as how to deal with falling of the wagon, which most of us will at some point.

For example, I am a visual person and highly motivated by creating results. Therefore a to-do list is a perfect tool for me. In fact I am using an app that keeps track of my to-do’s that I can always access through my computer or my cell phone, I love it. For my theme of self-generosity I have created a different list, one that I put up in my kitchen where I see it multiple times every day. It’s different in it not being about getting things done and checked off, but about rewarding myself.

I have selected things I need to do (classic to-do’s), but actually most of them are things I want to do for my own well-being, such as:

• Drinking lemon water
• Stretching or doing yoga
• Being creative
• Going to bed in time
• Spending time with friends and family

Then I put down how many points I get when I do them and I made a list of rewards I get by collecting enough points, e.g.:

• Getting myself some flowers
• Going to the movies
• Buying some of my favourite truffles
• Getting new art supplies
• Going to a museum
• Bigger things like going to a spa or traveling to a new city

With this list I wanted to make me see all the great things I am doing and connect them with a reward, a trophy I have earned. In order to stay with the theme of self-generosity I also have a check box for additional points, points for anything I didn’t cover in my list, anything that needs to be considered because it is a minor or major or just plain achievement that day. The whole list is about achievements, but because of the way my mind is set up it can trick me into seeing it as just another to-do list. Yet it is exactly this box for additional points that demands me to take a look at my day through the lens of self-generosity and I have already noticed that this one is the most fun one to fill. It’s like looking for an “excuse” (a valid one I might add) to celebrate myself even more.

New Year’s eve I sat down and made a list of all the positive things that I experienced and created in 2018. I did so in order to bathe in the success, as I was about to enter 2019 with a new vision. The New Year establishes itself a lot by the energy with which I enter it. Also this list will be helpful to have around when moments of feeling low-spirited pop up, causing me to think I can’t make my dreams happen.

My cell phone is my ally in more ways than just keeping track of my to-do’s: I just set up two different alarms to go off during the day, both with a positive message to remind myself of being as generous with myself as I am with others. I have done this before and it worked great. As I set it up without a sound or vibration I will only see the message the next time I use my phone. With time it will become a subconscious message, as I will have seen it so often before, which works really well for me. I love visual reminders like that.

Another one is a little stone with a golden heart on it. I bought it at a Christmas market in December. I have put it on my nightstand where it will remind me every night to look back at my day and my accomplishments through the lens of self-generosity. It’s also meant to keep me on track: If I will have had a day that I was frustrated with myself and my efforts this will be my last checkpoint in order to turn it around and remind me that my goal is not to reprimand myself for what I did wrong, but to keep my heart open for everything I am doing right, even if it might be just trying to do them right. That is already enough of a reason to celebrate myself!

It is becoming more apparent to me that this theme of self-generosity is asking me to be more open and flexible in how I view myself. It’s a shift from self-parenting to loving celebration and what a wonderful shift this will be!

Written by: Sabine Roggermeier; Gluecklich Im Sein