I'm bringing you an article on the achievement cycle because I find I need to re-learn these principles regularly, and I think you may need to as well. (Honestly, the most important things I am learning these days I need to revisit often.)

The achievement cycle has 4 parts:

1) identify a goal
2) work toward the goal (this usually takes the most time)
3) reach the goal
4) acknowledge, celebrate, and/or recover (we typically skip over this part)

Upon completing step 4, you can start over with another goal.

All four steps are essential. We're trained and focused to do the first three, but not the fourth, yet the final step is absolutely critical. It's not until you ADEQUATELY acknowledge, celebrate and/or recover from one cycle that you are really ready to start the next one with full energy. I'm not suggesting that you spend a week in Maui every time you meet a deadline. But I am saying that you will need to fulfill Step 4 before you are fully available to your next project.

When I finished my application and met my deadline last month, I expected to take the weekend off and return to work-as-usual on Monday. In fact, I did return to working with clients with the pleasure and enthusiasm I always feel for it. But for other parts of my work such as marketing, publicity, web development, and writing, which are harder kinds of work for me, I had no energy whatsoever: no enthusiasm, no interest, no willingness, no nothing!

Since I regularly teach the achievement cycle, I knew enough to check if I had adequately worked Step 4. I had taken some down time on the weekend, enough, I thought, to qualify as "recovery." I had shared with the people I'm closest to (and who knew all month what I was up against) that I was DONE! I counted that as "acknowledgment." And certainly I had had a light heart over the weekend and had "celebrated" by spending more time than usual hanging out with my husband, taking a longer than usual bicycle ride with him, and just relaxing more. So, when I found myself less than useless on Monday morning, I was puzzled.

And I was irritated. I wanted my MoJo back. "What more do you need?" I asked myself. "What is the big deal?" You can see what a compassionate stance I was taking.

I eventually figured it out. I had only paid lip service to Step 4. I had not gotten to the heart of the matter, which was a more full, frank, and detailed self-acknowledgment. Taking credit for "doing a lot of work" and essentially giving myself a high five just wasn't cutting it.

At the risk of boring you to tears, I will share with you a few examples of the level of detail that made the difference for me. You, of course, will need to know what the key factors are for you. Here are a few of the things I needed to self-acknowledge for:

---> I worked longer hours than usual, over most of the month, often late into the night, many nights, past where I normally say "enough" and go to bed. At those moments when I really wanted to stop, I hung in and pushed a little farther and longer.

---> I stretched way out of my comfort zone, asking past clients and other coaches for their help. I repeatedly stretched in this way, slowly gathering the permission and recommendations I needed.

---> I brought forth a bigger vision of myself as someone worthy of this advanced credential. When my doubts and fears came up, I stood my ground and held on to this bigger vision.

It's not that these feats are in any way extraordinary. They're not. But that is not the point! My inner worker bee (drone, believer, marathon runner, pioneer, warrior) needed to be compensated (like it or not!) for a job well done. Chances are, yours does too. The currency in this realm is appreciation. It's just that simple. When my webmaster works her magic on my website, I pay her and I thank her and I tell her what I particularly like about what she did. The next time I need her services, she is ready, willing, and able. Why should you expect yourself to need less than that?

If you regularly find yourself under-energized for projects you are truly committed to, you may be habitually falling short on Step 4 of the achievement cycle. It seems counter-intuitive, but this will actually, in the long run, to increase your productivity. The following remedial steps can help:

1. NOTICE when you complete a project. Many people ignore the completion threshhold and move seamless, unconsciously right on to the next task. This is a mistake! Train yourself to NOTICE completions.

2. Take a moment to recognize the completion. Breathe.

3. Start the process of mentally acknowledging the ways you delivered, particularly the most solitary and challenging ways.

4. Keep adding to this mental list until all your effort feels recognized. It may take a couple of days.

5. You do not need to share these self-acknowledgments with anyone else. Like the "tender shoots" referenced elsewhere in this issue, they are easily trampled by others with a different sensibility. Protect these "thank-you's" by keeping them to yourself or sharing them only with people who really understand where you're coming from.

Your efforts do not need to be heroic or world-class to deserve your recognition. In fact, your most humble efforts may be the ones most in need of your acknowledgement.

Copyright 2006 Sharon Teitelbaum. All rights reserved.

Master Certified Coach Sharon Teitelbaum is an authority on work life balance http://www.stcoach.com/worklife/ and an expert life coach http://www.stcoach.com/coaching/ to busy professionals, high achievers, people at midlife, and working parents. Her book, Getting Unstuck Without Coming Unglued: Restoring Work-Life Balance, is a strategic, tactical guide for maintaining a sane and balanced life, distilled from her experience coaching hundreds of people.

A sought-after keynote speaker and workshop leader, Sharon has addressed such diverse audiences as Harvard Medical School Faculty, financial advisors at Merrill Lynch, and Mothers' of Twins Clubs. She has been featured in national publications including The New York Times, Working Mother Magazine, and Forbes.com. Sharon works with individual coaching clients throughout the US and internationally by phone, or in person in the Boston area, and always offers an initial consultation at no charge. Married for thirty-plus years, she is the mother of two fabulous grown-up daughters.