I just swam a mile. One of the reasons I love swimming is that it forces you to celebrate your wins.
Lap swimming is broken down into a series of 25-yard increments. If you get to the other end without drowning, congratulations! Now, you can turn around and do it again.
As you get stronger, you put more of those 25s together and get sets. Since I’m less than a month into swimming again, my sets are 250 yards. You put a handful of those together (plus a little more) and you end up with a mile.
Today was the first time in more than 5 years since I made it a whole mile.
There are times when I’m struggling and I tell myself that I only have to make it to the other side. One more length. One more lap. One more set.
Setting smaller benchmarks means you know when you can catch your breath and acknowledge how far you’ve come.
(Spoiler: this whole anecdote applies to work, too.)
Celebrate your wins along the way. Especially if you work in digital, where the project is never officially “done.”
Things can always get better, but for right now, appreciate how far you’ve come. And take a minute to thank someone who helped you get there.
This post originally appeared on LinkedIn.