Why I bought the bag – do you reward yourself enough?

As anyone who follows me on Twitter or Instagram will know, I recently purchased a completely beautiful Fairfax & Favor Windsor Bag. I’ve actually filmed a video about its packaging too (coming soon!). But that’s not the point of this blog – the point of this blog is tell you why I bought the bag…and it’s not just because it’s gorgeous. And my question for you – do you reward yourself enough?

I’ve been admiring this particular bag for a while. And I’ve been in need for a new bag as mine fell apart not that long ago, but I still drag it around the place. Anyway, it’s been on my wish list for quite a long time. But why didn’t I just flipping buy the damn thing? Well, that goes a bit deeper.

I don’t buy that many ‘things’ for myself. I have a bit of a vice for business books, and obviously I buy necessary clothes, food, you know – but I don’t ‘spoil’ myself. Well. Ever. And that’s fine. I don’t need to. But this goes a little deeper in that I neither spoil myself nor reward myself when I do well. I’m not saying that each time I make a bit of progress in my business I should buy myself new things – far from it – but I never even say ‘well done’ either. Silly, isn’t it?

But I’m not alone in this. I work with some amazing people who achieve fabulous things in their businesses each day. They revolutionise out of date services and products, they gain new clients, they create new pieces, they work really, really hard. And what do they do when they succeed? They’re onto the next thing, without so much as a celebratory pause. Or even a smile for a job well done.

Let’s flip this around. If you had someone working for you that made the wins that you make in your business, would you just ignore their achievements? I very much doubt it. You’d tell them that they’d done well. You’d congratulate them. You might go out for a drink after work. If it’s a spectacular achievement, you might even given them a bonus. And what do you do when you do something great? How do you reward yourself? Put the kettle on and crack on with the next job? Sound familiar?

So, back to the bag. A client of mine had bought one and sent me a video of it (yes…I do have lovely clients who egg me on to do things!), and one of the lovely bloggers I work with is a big fan of the brand too. Yet still I was on the fence. Did I deserve it? Yep. You read that correctly. Did I deserve the bag?  I work hard, I don’t play hard, I give a lot. With a gentle kick up the backside from my client, and husband, and Harriet (aka A Girl About Country). The bag was purchased and I couldn’t be more delighted. Not only is it a thing of beauty, but it’s a rather lovely reminder of how far I’ve come, and that hard work pays off. All in bag form.

So, my message to you. I’m not saying you need to necessarily buy yourself expensive things every five minutes, or throw parties when you make progress, but do something nice for yourself, to say well done. Self employed people and directors don’t really seem to celebrate their wins. And where’s the fun in that? Treat yourself like you would a team member. Even if it’s just a quiet word with yourself that says ‘job well done’.

Do you reward yourself enough? I’d love to hear how you pat yourself on the back below, or if this blog has made you think that perhaps you need to have a think about it.