You're worth it. Don't let congratulations become complacency.

It's the end of a great year and you're really please with how you've done.

It's time to congratulate yourself on your fine successes, take a load off, and relax...isn't it??

Of course we should take the time to celebrate our successes and we should be proud of our achievements. But there is a fine line between congratulations and complacency. When we reach our goals, we can put our feet up and relax, or we can stop and look around for the next desirable goal.

In 2003 Australia won the cricket World Cup with an undefeated winning streak. Their coach, John Buchanan, was asked, 'How much can this side improve now that it has taken the game to a new level-what is there left to achieve?' John's response was simple and unambiguous: 'we can improve a lot across all areas of our cricket because I do not believe we have taken the game to a new level. I believe we play the same way as all other teams, utilising similar basic skills. The difference is that we deliver these skills better and more consistently than other teams."

Avoiding complacency isn't about thinking that we won't be good enough until we reach that next milestone. Instead, it's an acknowledgment to ourselves that we are already good enough to achieve what we want, as long as we are willing to put in the effort. It's saying 'you're worth it'.

Hard work is often under-acknowledged as a determinant of success. We try to ascribe it to luck, a twist of fate, or natural talents and abilities. While all of these play important roles, they are also good excuses as to why others enjoy greater success than us. If we instead recognise the hard work involved, we can look at those whose success we admire and consider that if we worked as consistently we could enjoy similar success.

Avoiding complacency means not accepting excuses. It means maintaining the discipline to stick to our strategy even when at times its hard, time consuming or stressful. It means having the courage to see things through to the end. It also means thinking creatively about what your goals really are and how they can best be achieved.

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas season and every success in 2011!

Quotes from: If Better is Possible: The winning strategies from the coach of Australia's most successful cricket team by John Buchanan. Hardie Grant Books. 2007.