Hold on to your successes, let go of your failures.

It seems like a simple formula for happiness. It isn’t complicated although in practice it is difficult. When you end your day, visualize some success and hold on to that in your mind. Allow yourself to feel good about that success. Let go of the judgement of failure.

Use your priorities and set a goal for yourself for the day. Maybe your day is packed with critical meetings, and the goal is just to attend them all with full attention. Perhaps you need to get a presentation completed, or develop a decision brief. Set a goal you can achieve and call the day a success.

Expectations from outside forces creep into your day. You cannot control your boss or a customer who requires your attention unexpectedly. More often than not, even these outside intrusions happen on a predictable routine. Account for outside forces in your goal setting.

I remember a conversation with a coaching client who told me that Mondays were always sabotaged for him. He would start with the best laid plans on Sunday night, and by middle of the day on Monday all hope of sticking to his plan was lost. I recall asking him how he could plan better for a day that was so unpredictable. How could his goal for the day reflect the near certainty that it was unpredictable.

I haven’t always been good at ending my work day. There was a time when I let the day finish through loss of momentum. I would register defeat after recognizing I couldn’t get all the work on my desk or in my inbox done before leaving. More recently, I have found value in having a ritual of finishing the day. This ritual is especially helpful on the days when I work from home, and the dividing line between work and home is razor thin.

I shift my thinking and allow myself to hold on to the success of achieving my one goal for the day. I have a ritual of reflecting on the success of meeting my goal. I choose to leave work on a high note. I let go of any perceived failure from work I didn’t complete. They may become my goal tomorrow.

I hold on to my success and carry it forward home, where I have other responsibilities to my family and my community that require my attention as well.