It was Saturday evening.  I was just switching off mentally, cooking whilst chatting with a friend, and flicking through my emails and there it was … “We are delighted to inform you that you have been awarded a pass in your masters dissertation”.

Two years of the hardest work that I have ever done have come to an end.  It felt like a loss.  I put not just my mind, but my heart and soul into my study to learn as much as I could about psychology, human nature and also myself, and how to help people (and myself) flourish.

I am no longer working towards a defined goal and instead I have to define my own goals.  That freedom brings its own responsibility and challenge.  How can I make it work?  How can I put my new skills and knowledge, my passion, to their best use?

I am making a classic mistake.  I have not given myself time to drink it in.  To deeply appreciate the reward for the work I have done and congratulate myself.  If we don’t take time to appreciate ourselves we are not putting any deposits in our emotional bank balance.  We draw on our self-esteem without putting anything back and it will become eroded.  I have coached several people who have steadily grown career-wise but who have no corresponding increase in self-esteem because they have not taken the time to appreciate their accomplishments.

So I will make an appointment with myself, spoil myself with a treat, reminisce about the highs and lows of my studies, congratulate my fellow students, and linger with the feeling of a job well done, for a little while, before shouting ‘Next!.