@andrewtaso shared this some time back, about how members of a substance abuse support group got given a silvery memento coin as a celebration of staying clean for one year.

I love this idea of a physical, tangible symbol of progress. Why else do athletes get trophies and medals? The memory of all that hard work you put in, leading up to that significant moment when you performed at peak, will all fade away over time. But physical things have a persistence that outlasts abstract thoughts. Besides, if the symbol is something you want, it feels like a reward too, therefore reinforcing the good habits that led you to your win. Extra bonus points if the symbol is something that I can use daily or regularly.

So that got me thinking… I do need to be more intentional about my habit formation around learning coding. I want to set up a reward, a symbol of progress, for myself, when I get to significant milestones along my #decodingcoding journey. 

Which milestones should I celebrate? What should I get for myself that makes sense?

Maybe the milestones and symbols of progress could be something like this, in increasing levels of satisfaction:

?? First “Hello, World!” - tweet/post to archive for personal memory

? Launched MVP - make/get cool laptop stickers (for Vue, Nuxt, Rails, JAMstack) to symbolize belonging

? Earn first MRR$ - make a new set of business cards to officially celebrate being an indie software maker  

? Reach ramen profitability - get a new iPhone? Apple Watch?

Any ideas on meaningful gifts/rewards to oneself to celebrate a milestone? Have you done something similar before? What did you get?