Do you reward yourself on a regular basis? If not, why not? If you do, give yourself a pat on the back – or whatever form of recognition works well for you! Paradoxically, perhaps, most people work best when they take the time to care for themselves. This includes rewarding or recognizing themselves on a regular basis. Yet to many people, self-care is a foreign concept. Recently I wrote an article that lists and describes six suggestions for developing a personal rewards/recognition program. Here are shorter versions of three of these ideas:

1. Identify the types of rewards and recognition that you value.

The first step in creating an effective reward/recognition system for yourself is being clear on what you want and need. This may require some outside-the-box thinking! Consider things that are meaningful to you and require little or no cost, such as taking a walk in nature, reading a good book, getting together with friends, or simply relaxing.

2. Experience the power of recognition.

Are you one of the many individuals who fail to give themselves credit for their achievements, or who refuse to accept recognition from others? If so, I have some advice for you: stop it! Instead, start listening carefully to what attributes or accomplishments others praise you for, and take ownership of the things they say. Allow yourself to acknowledge who you are and what you have done. Ask close friends or family members to identify some of your best characteristics or achievements, and reflect on the positive impact they have on others. Do not wait until you have finished a task or project to reward or recognize yourself; making progress is worthy of recognition as well. Incorporate meaningful forms of reward and recognition liberally into each day.

3. Connect rewards with performance that you can control or influence.

Few things are more de-motivating to people than being offered rewards for achieving outcomes over which they have little or no control. So why do they do it to themselves? Those who engage in this type of behavior are wreaking havoc on themselves and diminishing the quality of their lives. Instead, make sure that the personal goals you set for yourself are achievable. Break medium- or long-term goals into shorter pieces and celebrate your progress as you move along the path to completion.

For additional details about these ideas or to read about the remaining suggestions, I invite you to take a look at the article How to Optimize Your Personal Rewards/Recognition ROI. Then let me know your favorite way to recognize your achievements.

© 2010 Pat Lynch. All rights reserved.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 25th, 2010 at 9:27 pm and is filed under Aligning the Misaligned, Optimizing Personal Results. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.