How to celebrate your wins…because you deserve it.
You need to celebrate your wins... tiny or large.
If that makes you cringe in your heart. PERFECT. You are in the RIGHT PLACE. Congrats.
For those of you that are like, oh yes, I announce every joyous occasion on the social medias... I’d say continue doing that, but, there’s also more ways to cement in a win.
Why does it even matter? Why bother celebrating? I could be doing so much more!
Yep. You could always have done more.
If you find yourself after each accomplishment downplaying it, “oh yes, I ran a half-marathon, but, you know, that’s only half of a marathon. It doesn’t really count.” Consider me grabbing you by the shoulders and saying, “CELEBRATE THIS WIN! WHO CARES WHAT’S NEXT?!”
Our culture loves to harp on what comes next. So what if you hit a series A. What about the next round. So what if you have 100,000 users. Let’s get to 1 million. So what if you just got promoted to a Senior Lead... why not go for Director next year?
It’s exhausting to be turning nonstop on constantly shooting off wins.
The real problem? It means we’re never pleased with our success. Hell, we won’t even call it a success because it “doesn’t count.”
I’m here to assure you, your success counts. That “tiny” win, is a WIN. So let’s celebrate it.
Biggest whoa moment: Celebrating your wins does more than give you a moment of joy. Here are three things a celebration might unlock:
Releases endorphins. And endorphins give you a good mood boost. And a good mood boost helps you get a step forward in your gnarly work issues. A step forward occurs on 76% of people’s “best mood days.” So if you’re looking for continued progress, how about giving yourself a shout out.
Realigns you with your goal. Feeling kind of meh on your goals and a lack of motivation? The quickest thing to do is express some gratitude for all the hard work you’ve done. Each small win is a push towards that bigger, meatier goal.
Cements in good habits. If we pause and cheer on something that we’re trying for the first time - even if we’re cheering a failure or a missed mark, we’re recognizing the hard effort you’re putting in. This helps you continue to move forward. So what if it wasn’t a perfect presentation? We’ll keep working on it. Who cares if you didn’t love the outcome of that meeting? You still did the meeting. You’ll get better.
Put it into practice now: Here are five ways you can capture and celebrate a win:
Capture it. For a work win, add it to your “wins folder.” (And if you don’t have a wins folder, get started on that now - for you, and your team!)
Reward it. I’m a big fan of finding excuses to celebrate yourself. A fancy cup of coffee, a delicious meal out, a massage, you name it! Even better, if the reward is in line with the goal, it can help cement it further. Ran that half-marathon? Buy that new running hat you’ve been eyeing! (But also, eat a doughnut because yessss!) Wrapped up a great project in an area you’ve been interested in? Invest in a workshop or online course that lets you dive in even deeper! Whatever it is, find a reward (small, or large) to enjoy the goal
Share it. Don’t worry, those of you who are like no I do not share... this is sharing it with someone close to you. Bonus tip is it should be someone who won’t ask you “Great, so what’s next?!” For example, if you’re running your own company and just made your first hire... tell that other founder who recently grew to a team of three. They’ll understand just how big a deal it is. We often lean on sharing our wins with friends and family, but, it can be great to also share a win with someone who really “gets” the win.
Say thank you. It’s rare that we get to a win all on our own. Whether it’s a thank you to your partner for handling bed time every night, or a colleague who put in the extra time and effort, or a friend who took your photographs for your website that landed you 7 new clients... thank them.
Make it smaller. Yep. Make your next win even smaller. Give yourself more reasons to celebrate. Creating “microgoals” gives you more opportunities to lock-in all the wonderful goodness of doing hard things. And, the data supports it. 87% of folks surveyed said a small win was crucial to powering through their day.
So for “what’s next?” Make it even tinier. And then shout it from the roof tops.
Struggling with the “what’s next?” voice? Reach out.