Quick Tip – Celebrate the Wins

Don’t wait for the big ones either – Issue #48

About 15 years ago, I decided to start celebrating my wins. All of my wins, not just the big ones.

It’s easy to get into the habit of only celebrating large and apparent wins:

• Landing a new job

• Getting a raise or promotion

• Buying a new house

• Getting your book published

Of course, you are going to celebrate big wins. However, for most of us, those significant wins are few and far between. In the meantime, you will experience hard times and losses. That’s normal. That’s life!

If you don’t celebrate the small wins and regularly express gratitude for the good things in your life, you start to overemphasize the negative stuff. The balance feels out of whack. You begin to feel like you aren’t very successful or happy.

Social media only exacerbates this. People share the highlight reel of their lives. So, you slip into thinking everyone else is successful, wealthy, and outrageously happy.

It isn’t true, of course. But, that little voice inside your head keeps whispering that you’re not doing as well as they are.

Combat this darkness with an active effort to celebrate the happy moments in your life, no matter how small. The celebration can be tiny as well, but it should be a conscious choice to commemorate the moment.

Heck, I’ve had micro-celebrations when I finish an article that consisted of going out to get a cup of coffee. Wild, I know. But, it is intentional and meaningful for me.

Make it a consistent habit. You may not feel like celebrating a win every day, but you should be celebrating something, in some form, every week.

That’s one reason that I have a “wins” channel in my Slack career team. We share our wins with each other and celebrate together every Friday.

What has your win been this week?