How do you congratulate yourself ?

[Isabelle]

I'm looking here for pampering ideas or things that make you feel good when you are proud of an achievement and you want to do something for yourself.

When I have to do something I don't like, it is easier to have a gratification at the end. Like having a cup of tea infusing while I'm cleaning the dishes, taking a hot bubble bath with candles after a long walk in the snow with my dog (usually, it is a gratification in itself, but it is so cold in Quebec, sometimes it's hard to get dressed and go !), having dinner with friends in the middle of a stressfull week, etc.

Do you take time for yourself ? What do you like to do when you are so proud of the things you have done ? Or what do you do to encourage yourself to continue your good work ?

[cela]

I'd love to hear people's suggestions, too! My rewards have too often centred around food, which is certainly not helping my primary focus this year (as per my sig).

Today, however, as a reward for hard work over the last couple of weeks (at work and on my fitness), I have booked a one-night stay at a nice place about an hour away, and I am going to take some quiet time to read, relax and refocus in plush surrounds!

[ChrisCountryGirl]

I like to buy myself things like a new book.

[bellbird]

Once I started thinking about it I thought hang on, I am proud of what I'm doing and achieving but do I congratulate myself? I think I smile when i'm aware of what I'm doing and what wonderful things happened. I feel happy and bouncy and enjoy life. A skip in your step does wonders. I would LOVE to take a bath but unfortunately the small house I live in at the moment doesn't have one so once I will have one will it will be SOOOO nice haha. I enjoy buying magazines for myself sometimes to fluff in. I don't buy themn often so it is a bit of a treat. Then again it's related to work as well sooo. Oh well That's probably my indulgence and very occasionally I buy lovely muffins or whatever for morning tea. Other then that I'm quite happy to relax whenever I can, even when it's during my mountainbike sessions every morning before work. So it is the 'inner congratulating' that's most going on

[Shaden]

I go and play Final Fantasy XII for the rest of the day

[Michelle]

Going for a massage, to a movie, out to eat, taking an afternoon off, buying something pretty, taking a bath, writing in my blog, laying around the whole Sunday in bed, buying quality chocolate from a confiserie ... oooh! and having girl's pajama night like I will do tomorrow night with my friends. We are all in our late 20s and it is still so much fun!

[SmellyOrc]

Care if I join you gals?

When I achieve something great, most of the time I either get myself a bag of sugar peanuts and a good movie, or I say to myself: 'Good job. Now get on with your life, bastard'

[빈센트]

amazon shopping. a nice long hour of peaceful meditation. Both work.

[Razo]

Originally Posted by Shaden

I go and play Final Fantasy XII for the rest of the day

sounds good to me!

but yeah, some of the things i might consider doing as rewards

- Calling an old friend who i haven't spoken to in a long time
- Watching one of the many movies on my 'to-watch list'
- spending an afternoon drawing while listening to my favourite mix album
- play some Wii with my brother
- go for a long cycle/jog/walk


or pretty much just crossing anything off from my enjoyment lists.

[Lola]

Anything that is just for me (Michelle's list is right up my alley) and a little self-indulgent.

Also, self-administered big pats on the back when I accomplish something challenging. Recently, in my (now testosterone-free) home, the toilet kept running. And the sink was clogged up. I'm fairly handy and self-sufficient but had never tackled anything remotely related to plumbing.

Since I really didn't want to pay a plumber for what I thought should be easy fixes if I only knew how, I did a little online research, went to the hardware store and purchased what I thought I needed, got home and by god had the toilet running perfectly within an hour. Then took the sink drain apart, cleared the clog and successfully put it back together.

I was so proud of myself but there was no one around to tell me how great I was. So for the rest of the day - alright the rest of the week! - everytime I caught sight of myself in the mirror I gave myself a big smile and said things like, "OH MY GOD! YOU ARE SO SMART! I AM SO INCREDIBLY IMPRESSED WITH YOU! YOU DID IT!!!"

Goofy. But it made me feel good!