One of my all-time favorite (now former) coworkers, Leigh Ann, has many admirable traits. But one of my favorites is that she is always looking for a reason to celebrate.
Occasionally, she would organize larger celebrations, bringing in everyone in the group, any collaborators, even families and friends. But more often, the celebrations were much smaller. Sometimes champagne was popped, sometimes it was coffee or a pastry or a chocolate bar, but most often it was just taking a moment to recognize that someone had done something good, pointing it out and reveling in it for a minute.
It’s easy to defer celebrations, or to assume that they must be elaborate or planned, or that they are only called for or deserved once some ambitious end goal has been achieved. But the thing is, end goals are a byproduct of having hit countless other marks on the journey to them. And, to be honest, it is a bit diminishing (not to mention demoralizing) to do good work day in and day out while carrying an implicit belief that the only step that matters is the one that crosses the finish line.
To state the blindingly obvious, most steps won’t cross the finish line. But without each and every one of them, you will never get there.
One of my favorite long-defunct shows is Chef! with Lenny Henry playing Gareth Blackstock, a brilliant and bad-tempered chef in England. One of the most notable storylines is Gareth’s boyhood friend, Everton, deciding that he wants to train as a “proper chef.” Everton calls on his schoolyard chum to secure an (unpaid) apprenticeship in the best kitchen in England, Gareth’s.
There is a running gag over the first season as Everton grows from a total liability to a chef capable of making genuine contributions in a Michelin-starred restaurant. Gareth continually instructs Everton on “the most important element” of cooking. The exact answer depends on the episode; it is never the same thing twice. If memory serves, I recall ingredients, preparation, timing, and presentation all being “the” most important element of cooking.
The implied punchline (and lesson) is that whichever step you are currently on is the most important step of the entire process. If you do not execute that particular step to the required standard, no step beyond it matters; you will not get to where you want to go.
So give that step your full attention and your best effort because it is the most important step of the entire process. And understand that the next step, too, is the most important one.
Each and every step, successfully executed, becomes a victory worthy of acknowledgment—and of celebration.