Celebrate Small Wins
Every celebration is motivation for the next win.
“You don’t need a grand plan, you don’t need to go back to the ancestors and rewrite the rules. You just need to take small steps and accumulate small wins.” — Bruce Feiler
Learn to celebrate small wins on the path to your aspirations.
They are easy to overlook. Why bother? Shouldn’t you use that time for more productive things? You may feel silly at first, but each celebration provides fuel for the journey ahead.
Four rules exist for small celebrations:
They must be specific to you.
They must be inexpensive and plentiful.
They must make you feel like a champion.
They must be given in the moment... on the spot.
What does celebrating small wins look like?
A Tiger Woods style fist pump
Grinning and shouting “nailed it”
A square of dark chocolate
Celebrating is a keystone habit. In The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg defines them as small changes or habits introduced into your routine that unintentionally carry over into other aspects of your life.
Celebrating reinforces the practice of small steps. Each small win is a successfully completed step in your aspirational journey. Small wins are a small advantage. They compound over time into much bigger wins.
Celebrating improves your outlook on life. “Celebrating the small wins is a great way to build confidence and start feeling better about yourself.” [Abhishek Ratna] Once you let go and really belt them out, the path of your aspirational journey brightens.
Celebrating motivates future steps. It is the definition of enjoying the journey or the process. Each small celebration powers you forward to the next step. With each step, motivation builds like a wave. Ride it!
Celebrating is contagious. Your positive outlook on life spreads to others, thereby amplifying its power when reflected back on you. Don’t be surprised to see people around you erupting into their own small celebrations.
In the words of Gary Hamel, “win small, win early, win often.” And celebrate!
🤔 Food for Thought:
How does celebrating a win feel?
What is your favorite way to celebrate a small win?
Are you letting small wins go by without celebration?
⚙️ One Small Step:
The next time you accomplish something meaningful, no matter how small, use your favorite celebration. If you don’t have a favorite, try different celebrations on for size. Mix them for different types of wins. Have fun with it!