I’ve decided that starting in the summer of 2015, we’re all going to get commencement awards. Everyone. Every year. Not just kids graduating from school. Not just valedictorians. All of us. And especially adults. Regardless of whether we’re working at paying jobs.
Because we all deserve recognition, right?! (Don’t argue with me. I’m right!)
Here’s the catch: you have to come up with the title for your award. And you get only one per year.
So, take some time to think about your award. What do you want to be recognized for? When you look back at 2015, what is the one thing that you want to proudly remember as a significant achievement?
Before you answer, remember that this is your award. Of your own making and choosing. It’s your chance to recognize something in yourself, to be very clear and specific about what you value or the challenges you’ve been facing, or what it is that you wish others would see. And it’s your chance to mark the passage of time.
Imagine putting the award on your wall – so that you can display it to others. Oh, I didn’t know you were the fastest counter girl at MacDonald’s in 1980. You got “sings the most” at summer camp? Every grant proposal you wrote was funded in 1990? For real? You were the oldest person in your Americorps group in 2000? Wow, you don’t look that old! You survived three changes in your supervisor in the past year? You got to spend time with your dad when he was dying and successfully found a new job afterword?
I did this activity with a client recently and she gave herself an award for pushing beyond her comfort zone and getting out to networking events and meetings. In 2015, she broke a one-year deadlock of saying she was going to network. She’s now setting up two meetings a week. How many of you deserve an award for upping your networking outreach?
You know where you’ve grown and what has stretched you. And you’re deserving.
Don’t you think it’s time adults earned awards (and got feedback)?!
We put a lot of energy into showing up and delivering results. We work hard to craft our resumes and cover letters. We put time into our marketing collateral and outreach materials. And we work at our jobs, take on crazy deadlines, answer emails on weekends, appease our bosses, attend boring meetings, and on and on.
Don’t let your hard work and accomplishments go un-noticed.
Give yourself an award that means something to you and celebrates your crowning achievement of 2015. And if that’s realizing that it’s time to move on and look for a new job, recognize your courage and your clarity, or your freedom from inertia. And if it’s designing the best spreadsheet tracking system you could muster, than write that up. Or surviving a ridiculously inept boss. Or answering an average of 200 emails a day.
You deserve an award this year. And every year.
After you’ve written it up, have someone witness it, sign it and date it. And take a good long look at that award so you can remember what you worked at this year.
And if you’re “sings the most” at work, good for you! I hope you can carry a tune.