Self-reward is good for the soul.

Sitting back this morning, looking over PoGo's new website, I revelled in the newness of it all. It's taken many weeks of hard work on the part of my web developers and me. The teamwork was great and we all feel we've produced something of quality and value.

I then emailed Sue of Positive Parents = Confident Kids, who contributed to the first feature. She emailed back: "Now how are you going to celebrate?" That really took me aback. It got me thinking.

How often do we celebrate our achievements? I, for one, have never been great at doing that. I might give myself a little praise and think, "good job", and leave it at that. But celebrating? That's a whole different ball game. Why don't I think to acknowledge my achievements in a more meaningful way?

Well, for a start, celebrating one's achievements actually requires giving it attention – valuing the work done, plus some forethought on how to celebrate.

Sue's question makes me wonder how parents deal with their children's achievements. I'm sure most parents praise their children for having worked hard to reach a goal, or making good progress. What about the celebration side? Do you encourage your children to celebrate their achievements in a meaningful way? More importantly, do you allow them to decide for themselves what is a good way to celebrate that makes the achievement worthwhile?

With regard to my own achievements, my first approach would be to decide on a celebration that was fitting, something commensurate with the level of accomplishment. I quickly realise this is completely missing the point. Celebrating a job well done should be something that uplifts the spirits and makes us feel good about ourselves. It doesn't have to be constrained, or measured, or even impressive. Neither does it have to be loud. It needs simply to be gratifying.

From now on, I am going to make an effort to celebrate my achievements in a way that's meaningful at the time, and to encourage my daughter to do the same.

So tonight I shall celebrate my most recent achievement with a glass of gorgeous red wine, and putting my feet up in front of the telly for the evening with a favourite film, followed by a reasonably early night, the luxury of which I've not enjoyed for weeks because I've been working so hard. My girlfriend isn't available to join me, which is a shame, but you see, I hadn't planned this in advance. I will next time.