We celebrate a lot of things – think birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays – but when it comes to our accomplishments, we don’t celebrate them all that often.
This is unfortunate, since celebrating your accomplishments has a great number of benefits – and can be an excellent way to recognize significant milestones. Just as we commemorate the big events in our lives, we should also be paying tribute to our accomplishments as well!
Ben Renshaw, a director of the Happiness Project and Success Intelligence says that “On average by the age of eighteen we will have been praised and encouraged 30,000 times – and most of this . . . by the time we are three.” Somewhere along the way, we stop celebrating.
Neglecting to celebrate your successes can cause you to slowly and subconsciously start to take a negative view of your accomplishments. When you focus on what you haven’t accomplished instead of what you have, you are less likely to stay on task and complete your goals.
The good news though, is that celebrating your accomplishments can boost your confidence, help to stave off burnout, and fuel your continued success.
Why is it important to celebrate success?
Celebrating your success and achievements really helps boost your overall confidence and motivation. Below, we listed 4 reasons why it’s important to celebrate your successes, no matter how small they might be. This habit will help to:
1. Develop a Success Mindset
When you position yourself as a winner, you open the door for more successes to come your way.
“Success begets more success, so it’s only natural to build upon existing momentum; especially during events of celebration,” says Bill Carmody, Founder and CEO of Trepoint. “Perception becomes reality.”
When you’ve reached an important milestone, instead of immediately moving on to the long list of things that you have to do next, spend some time reflecting on what you’ve accomplished – and celebrate your success.
2. Build Your Confidence
Telling yourself that you can be successful and that you can accomplish things will do wonders for your confidence. Instead of downplaying your achievements, or attributing them to luck, or giving others the credit, it’s important to acknowledge them – and celebrate your success! Let your accomplishments be a reminder to you that you can succeed – because you’ve succeeded before.
3. Increase Motivation
If we don’t take the time to acknowledge our successes, it’s easy to lose motivation which eventually can lead to burnout. But celebrating and acknowledging your victories with even a small reward can help to keep you on track and motivated. It’s important to celebrate even the smallest accomplishments.
4. Release Happiness
Have you ever noticed when you celebrate, you feel good? There is a reason for this. When you celebrate, dopamine is released into your brain. Setting small goals and then celebrating them will release more of this chemical that leaves us feeling happy and motivated. And the more we feel that positive emotion, the more motivated we’ll be able to do that thing again. As B.J. Fogg, an experimental psychologist at Stanford, says, “Emotions create habits…when you complete your tiny habit, reward yourself with an ‘Awesome!’ or ‘Good for me!’ to affirm to yourself this is a behavior you’re proud of.”
5. Inspire Others
Finally, celebrating your success can inspire others as well. When others join you in celebrating, they can partake in your happiness – and feel motivated to achieve their own goals as well. If you’re celebrating a work-related success with your colleagues or those in your network, being in a celebration mindset can create an environment that’s conducive to brainstorming and creating new ideas. This is why it’s important to not just celebrate your success but others' achievements as well!
So whether you go to the movies, out to dinner with friends, buy yourself something you’ve been wanting, or just take a day to do things that you enjoy – make sure that you find a way to celebrate your accomplishments.
As Thomas J. Peters said, “Celebrate what you want to see more of.” If you want to be successful – then celebrate. You might just surprise yourself.
Do you celebrate your accomplishments? If so, how do you celebrate your success? If not, how can you start celebrating your accomplishments?
Need some inspiration or ideas on how you can celebrate your successes? Check out our 39 Ways to Treat, Fulfill, and Recharge Yourself free printable!