It's Time To Celebrate

Perfect moments, gold stars and a favour

Photo by Pineapple Supply Co. on Unsplash

When was the last time you took a beat and thought about what you’ve accomplished lately?

Life and work can be relentless. And it’s easy to get caught up in the need to keep doing and moving on to the next urgent/important thing. Those small wins passing you by on the way to the next thing.

Yet positive psychology research has shown that celebrating small accomplishments frequently can have a more significant impact than waiting to celebrate a big achievement.

In my first leadership role early in my career I never once stopped to think about what I’d achieved until it was too late; until I reached burn out point.

When I finally did stop, almost four years later, I was exhausted and the only reward I could see was my red eyes, an unhealthy body and a brain that had stopped operating anywhere near its potential a long time ago.

I‘d achieved and learned so much, but I hadn’t even noticed.

Celebrating doesn’t mean you’ve reached the finish line. Life isn’t always like that. Because the perfect moments don’t always exist.

Which means that recognising your achievements along the way and celebrating even small milestones becomes even more important.

What I’m celebrating and how you can help

At the end of last year I decided to start writing, once a week, about leadership. I committed to doing it for a month as an experiment. This week marks the six month point; and for me that’s worthy of a moments celebration (and glass of something tasty).

That said, 22 issues later and many lovely emails, comments and messages, I know very little about why you read it, what you like and what you’d like more of.

So I’d like to ask for your help, just for two minutes, and to answer the questions here - just click the button below. Thank you so much.

Meantime, here are five things to help you give yourself a pat on the back and notice how far you have come.

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Scale: It’s incredibly easy to put off celebrating, even when you’re conscious of the need to do it. To wait until a task is 100% complete before pausing to think about what you’ve completed and take any sense of satisfaction from it.

But bringing things to 100% completion is rare.

Take a new job for example. You aced the interview and have had the phone call. But it’s normal to want to see the offer in writing just to be sure. And then to wait because you need to tell people at work. And maybe then delay again because you’re wrapped up tying off loose ends in the job you’re leaving. And then so busy getting started in the next, wanting to give it every bit of your focus. Suddenly you’re a year in and have never really taken a moment to really pat yourself on the back.

The time for pause, reflection and celebration never really comes.

• What opportunities have you missed for celebrating your achievements?

• Do you lean towards celebrating small wins often or big wins less frequently?

• What could switching up your approach do for you?

Science: In his piece for Inc.com, Bill Carmody reinforces the point that celebrating changes your physiology and strengthens your psychology.

“When you celebrate, endorphins are released inside your body and you feel incredible. When you accomplish something and don't take the time to celebrate, you are robbing yourself of an important feeling that reinforces your success.

So much of what we do in our business is driven (or limited) by our psychology. Celebrating your wins not only feels great physically, but it reinforces the behaviour you want to show up when you face a new challenge or opportunity.”

• What ways of celebrating help you feel good?

• What could more of that feeling do for you; in the immediate and longer term?

Plan: Decide how you will celebrate, in advance. It might not be an incentive to drive success on it’s own but it will mean you’re more likely to take the time to celebrate when you’ve achieved it.

It might be as simple as; “when I get that next project/deal I’m going to treat myself to dinner at my favourite restaurant”, or “every time I negotiate a pay increase I’m going to go for a massage or give myself an entire day off to go hiking”.

• What one thing could you treat yourself to?

• What is the next opportunity to do that?

• What will help you commit to it and hold yourself accountable?

Reflect: As a coach I believe that learning happens through action and reflection. In practical terms it means learning through what you do.

The challenge is that if you focus purely on ‘doing’ you miss the opportunity for deep learning (and celebration). On the flip side, focussing purely on reflection and trying to gain ‘insight’ you’ll never put your actions into practice.

You could take one minute a day or two hours a year; or both. Ask yourself these questions:

• What went well?

• Why did it go well?

• What will you do differently next time?

Read: Celebrations can go beyond the individual. Levi King shares some great insight into how to scale and celebrate at a team and corporate level.

Question: What progress have you made this year that you have not taken a moment to acknowledge?

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