The Power of Celebrating Wins Along the Way
Written by Sandra Mueller
Pop the confetti! Open that champagne! It’s time to celebrate!
Prioritizing celebration is an important part of life. This mindset is crucial for our success and sense of community. When we invite others into our wins, we offer space to recall our achievements while also allowing relationships to grow and people to feel involved in our lives.
For many of us, this has been a challenging time navigating a global pandemic, racial injustice, and radical change to our routines. Especially in hard times, it’s even more vital to cultivate celebrations. From my own personal journey, I was looking for a job for a while. If you have ever been long-term job searching, you know it has its ups and downs. In that space, it was key, not just to my motivation but also to my mental health, to celebrate when things were going well. That might’ve been a great networking meeting, a new connection, or even a job interview request. When we embrace this philosophy, the wins feel sweeter and the lows are remembered in view of all that.
If you will allow me to dive into our neurobiology for a moment, it illuminates a powerful thing. Our brains tend to focus more on the negative than the positive. This began as a defense mechanism in our early lives to keep us safe. It helped us then. It’s not nearly as significant now to our survival. Knowing all this means we have to go out of our way to call out our wins, remember the good, and celebrate at every opportunity. Back to our brains for a second, they can be re-programmed by doing this.
When we express gratitude, embrace positive thinking, and acknowledge our wins, we see them more abundantly. What a powerful thing that is!
In this same vein, Richard J. Foster in his book Celebration of Discipline illustrates this point further by saying, “when we determine to dwell on the good and excellent things in life, we will be so full of those things that they will tend to swallow our problems” [emphasis added]. Our problems feel a lot smaller when we take into account all the good around us.
Another reason we ought to embrace this way of life is that it’s contagious! Have you ever been around someone like this? A person who celebrates every win, both their own and others, wholeheartedly? When you think about this person, what comes to mind? Are they at peace? Joyful? Do they honor people well? Can you feel their love? I bet if you know someone like this, they are all of those things.
We are also very happy when we celebrate often. Joy makes us want to celebrate more and it creates a beautiful cyclical relationship. As we celebrate more, we want it more. We are happier, healthier, and in a better headspace. People want to be around us. Our relationships grow stronger and our friendships feel deeper. With all these amazing benefits to our lives, who wouldn’t want to be a part of this?
Now that you know the power of celebrating wins along the way, I wanted to offer some practical tips to fit it into daily life.
Daily Gratitude:
When we reflect on what we are grateful for, it changes everything– from our mood to our outlook on life. I value this practice so much that I do it daily. It has been amazing in good times, but also instrumental in hard times.
Let People Know:
Sharing your successes with your friends is a great way to celebrate them. It allows them to come along side you. They can give kind words, pump you up (as some of my friends did), and help you along the way.
Celebrate Others:
When we have a posture of celebration, that also means focusing our effort on friends and family. Put their birthday in your calendar, remember their big milestones, and think about how they would love to be honored.
Embrace Small Wins with Rewards:
If you are making progress on your goals, it’s time to reward that effort. It is so hard to live life intentionally. If you are doing that in some matter, do something for yourself. Some suggestions: take yourself to coffee, indulge in a dessert you love, get your nails done, or any of these self-care activities.
Be Present:
Our presence gives us the capacity to see the good in the world and in others. If you are constantly on your phone or your head is elsewhere, you might miss that cute dog, beautiful flower, or nice compliment your friend gave.
Communicate Your Wants:
If it’s time to celebrate in a way, let those who know and love you best what you would like to do. If celebrating doesn’t feel fun and create joy–you’re doing it wrong! Everyone is going to have a different style to it so you need to embrace yours.
Don’t overcomplicate it:
If throwing events and parties as means of celebrating is stressing you out, it’s too much. Don’t make things harder than they need to be. Maybe celebrating is a nice meal out with a few friends or popping champagne with your love at home. It doesn’t have to be big to be meaningful.
As you move through the world, it’s nice to remember: just being alive is enough of a reason to celebrate. Carpe Diem! Seize this day and every day you are given. They are a gift!
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