Celebrate the wins

You wanted to do the thing, so you went and did the thing. Nice job! Now what? Nothing? Time to move onto the next thing? Woah, woah, woah, not so fast. Yes, it’s great to be forward-thinking, always ready to take on the next challenge. That is absolutely the right mindset when you’re moving like a bullet train towards your goals. But when we fail to celebrate our wins, we quickly get worn down. It’s demotivating to accomplish goal after goal without any recognition or self-love.

We talk a lot about what we’re going to do in the future (which, again, is a good thing), but we often forget to acknowledge what we’ve accomplished in the past. We forget to celebrate the wins along the way. It’s not selfish and it’s not weird, so get over any preconceived notions that whatever you accomplished (big or small) isn’t worth a celebration. It’s a simple practice that will help you stay engaged and motivated as you continue to take on new challenges.

Let’s be honest, there’s a little part of all of us that still operates under the sticker chart system that we were taught when we were young. Do something good, get a sticker, and get the gratification of that sticker being up on the wall. It’s human nature to want to be rewarded for effort, and it’s been ingrained in us our whole lives. Use this to your advantage. Motivate yourself through rewards, big or small. Whether it’s a sticker for smaller tasks or a spa day when you hit a major achievement, use rewards to keep yourself motivated and engaged with your goals.

Reaching any milestone means you accomplished a lot of smaller things along the way. You committed to something, put effort in, and got yourself where you wanted to be. When you set a goal for yourself, rather than just setting one big milestone at the end, try setting smaller milestones along the way. Celebrate the little wins that show progress towards your end game. Then, decide ahead of time how you’re going to celebrate. Being able to visualize what it’s going to feel like to accomplish a goal can be one of the biggest motivators. How good will the accomplishment feel and how will you celebrate all of your focus and hard work? Use the celebration to leverage your progress.

By the way, acknowledging a win doesn’t have to be a typical “treat yo self” celebration like a bubble bath or massage (although it absolutely can be if that’s what motivates you). Don’t limit yourself to those things though, if they don’t work for you, or if those are things you do regardless. Consider other celebrations, such as rest, getting out of town for a day, investing in yourself, or going out for a much deserved date night. Celebrate in whatever way is truly satisfying to you and gives you the chance to appreciate yourself for a moment.
Celebrating your wins is a way for you to appreciate yourself and acknowledge your own development. Everyone has their own definition of success and their own goal setting process. Whether you set long-term, sky-high goals for yourself every year, or you’re someone who looks for more frequent incremental improvement, don’t forget to celebrate all of your wins. You earned it and it will help to motivate you for what’s next.