The Power of Celebrating Wins

I hope you all are having a great start to your week! Today, I want to start with a question: when was the last time you celebrated a win? If you can’t remember, then it’s been  too long! Did you know that when we celebrate our wins, we're more likely to achieve even more successes?

Since I started coaching, I’ve come across people who have a hard time taking a moment to celebrate their successes, no matter how big or small they are. These people tend to be highly driven and goal-oriented and always striving for the next accomplishment. And I love them! I love their drive and enthusiasm and I find it very inspiring. I have the privilege to be there when they get a win and hold that space for them, even if they don’t share with others because they’ve already moved on to bigger and better things.

This week, I want to share with you why celebrating wins is critical to your success and some of the ways you can start celebrating your own wins—no matter how big or small they may be. Let's get started!

Why You Should Celebrate

Do you remember when you were a kid and it was your birthday? How yummy did it feel to be celebrated simply for turning a year older? Granted, we’re not talking about celebrating birthdays and as we get older, we might not want to mark the passing of time. But I am talking about celebrating milestones, achievements, big wins, small wins and everything in between.

I find there are many reasons why you should  celebrate wins:

• It changes your energy and your mindset
  Let’s be honest; it feels good to celebrate! If you enjoy celebrating other people’s birthdays, milestones, and successes, why not celebrate your own? Celebrating changes your energy and mindset by making you feel happy and warm all over. It brings you joy! When you are in a happy place, everything is easier. Obstacles seem smaller, your mindset opens and gets in receiving mode, you experience gratefulness and become more receptive to the Universe delivering more good things.
  
  
• You feel more confident and capable
  How good does it feel when you overcome that obstacle or resolve a challenge you’ve been struggling with for a while? It feels amazing! It makes you feel like you can take on anything! It makes you realize you are more capable and stronger than you sometimes give yourself credit for.
  
  
• You’re more willing to take risks
  You stop shying away from bigger challenges. Imagine you want to take on a bigger role, let’s say regional director. Now, think of yourself 5 years ago when you were just starting your sales role and you had not won any projects or clients yet. Then think of yourself celebrating closing a major client and crushing those major projects. How much more competent would you feel applying for the position? It’s a night and day difference.
  
  
• It keeps you motivated and engaged in your own life
  When everything feels hard and you feel you aren’t making headway, celebrating your wins is a great way to recognize how far you’ve come, and it makes you want to achieve more. It also helps you re-engage in your own life. The image that comes to mind is you, fist pounding your chest saying, “Bring it!”
  
  
• It gives you momentum and inspires you to keep moving forward
  This is especially true when you are striving for a big goal. When you’re able to check in on your milestones and celebrate the small wins, it energizes you to keep moving forward. You’re eating your elephant one bite at a time and pretty soon you’ll be eating the whole thing and celebrating the BIG win! It’s much harder to stay on track if you feel that all you’re doing is working, working, working and you don’t stop to recognize what you’ve achieved.
  
  
• It inspires others to reach for their goals and celebrate their own successes
  In essence, it creates a happiness loop where you inspire each other to succeed simply because you are taking the time to celebrate the achievements. So even if you don’t like celebrating for yourself, do it for others! Be that role model so they get it right.
  
  
• It’s a way to recognize how others have helped you achieve your goal
  When you are working on projects with others, celebrating your collective success helps them to feel recognized and appreciated. You can do that by hosting a celebratory breakfast, talking them up to senior management or sending a handwritten note.. In turn, they are more likely to want to work with you and help you succeed because they know they’ll be acknowledged.

The big picture is this: Celebrating your wins gives you an opportunity to stop and internalize the win. When you recognize and congratulate yourself and really feel the feelings, you transfer that feeling into your body’s memory banks and that invites more wins into your life!

Give Yourself Permission

The only thing stopping you from celebrating the great things you’re doing is yourself. I’d like to invite you right now, to take a moment and give yourself permission to reflect on your accomplishments of the last month and write them down.

What are some recent things I’ve celebrated? Losing a pound or two, signing up new clients, being consistent in my morning, not losing my patience getting cut off in conversation. It’s a mix of big and small things.

Remember that there are consequences for not celebrating and following through with giving yourself permission to celebrate your wins. They're not life threatening, but you are more likely to feel empty and less motivated over time which makes it that much more difficult to achieve your goals.

I encourage you to set aside your perfectionism –– “Well, it didn't go exactly as planned…”; your desire to strive –– ”How can I celebrate, I'm not done yet?”; and your need to minimize –– ”Oh it's just a small thing, no reason to celebrate”. Just get out of your comfort zone and take a moment to capture your successes.

How does that feel?

Share the Celebration

This might be a little bit more difficult to do if you're not used to celebrating your successes, but share your successes with the people you care about, so they can cheer you on! Your true friends will be happy for you and excited for you! Others don't matter.

Celebrating with others accomplishes a number of things:

• It inspires others to reach for their goals and celebrate their own successes.
• It gives your friends an opportunity to celebrate you!
• It recognizes the people who have supported you in achieving your goal.

Don't keep it to yourself. Try it on for size until you get comfortable. You don't have to tell the whole world. Tell your partner, your closest friend or a mentor. Just share and spread the joy!

How You Can Celebrate

There are so many ways to celebrate your successes! They can be as low key and as extravagant as you would like them to be!

No matter how else you celebrate, internalize the win. The best process I found to internalize it is: 1. recognize it as a win and 2. mark the occasion somehow. Here are some ways you can do that:

1. Write it down in your journal.
2. Sit with it. Feel how it felt when you realized it was a win. Feel it in your heart, in your gut, let a smile come to your face.
3. If you have a favorite song that makes you feel pumped up, put it on and dance around the house. Movement is an incredibly powerful way to internalize your wins.
4. Write it on a post-it and stick it on your wall or anywhere else you can see it and use it as motivation. When you see it you'll remember how you felt dancing around the house!

Then, you can go ahead and:

• Have a scoop of ice cream.
• Take an afternoon off to goof off.
• Have a dinner party, go out to eat or invite your friends to your house and celebrate.
• Buy that pair of shoes you wanted, that book you've been eyeing, that guitar you told yourself you'd only buy when you reached that milestone.
• Go on a cruise or plan a weekend away.
• Plan that spa day.
• Rent a car service and go out on the town.

Final Thoughts

Celebrating your wins is an important part of staying motivated and moving forward. It's a great way to boost morale and affirm your accomplishments AND it feels really good! It also allows you to reflect on what you’ve accomplished and gives you the opportunity to learn from your successes. So give yourself permission to celebrate, share your joy with others, and then get back to work planning for even more success in the future!

How do you want to celebrate your next win? Who are you going to share it with? Let us know in the comments!