Celebrating Wins

We celebrated my daughter’s birthday this last week.

She is now 11 which is crazy! Not too long ago she was learning to walk and ride her bike.

Now, she’s finishing up elementary school and prepping middle school. In just 4 years, she’ll be driving.

I just can’t believe it.

Its during these times of the year where I appreciate all the memories that pop-up on social media or in my photos.

Pictures of her first birthday and her first time eating cake.
Videos of her dancing in her princess dress at 3 years old.
Photos of her first birthday party we threw with her friends.
Clips of her last birthday where we all painted pictures of a rose.

Each of these are reminders of the milestones in my daughter’s life. Reminders of another year being completed, the celebration we had, and a new seasons of life getting started.

Until I see these photos and videos, I often forget what we did last year. Once they pop-up, all the memories come flooding back. I remember what we did, how I felt, and the smiles on my daughters face. Its helpful to be reminded of all the good things in our past.

I found its the same with pursuing my goals. When I stop to remember what I’ve accomplished, I feel a sense of pride.

Its easy to get caught up in the chaos of life and not remember everything that you’ve accomplished.

Most people have this on-to-the-next mindset, where they accomplish one thing and quickly move into the next. Very few actually stop to celebrate what they just completed.

Can you imagine if we treated our kids birthdays the same way?

“Alright, well you’re another year older. Lets focus on what you’re going to do next year.”

No. We slow down and celebrate this milestone in their life.

You need to do the same with your goals.

People often look for the next new thing while not thinking about what they just accomplished.

Just moving from one goal to the next with that on-to-the-next mindset, you're going to continue feeling like you're living in chaos.

To live a happy and healthy life, you need to move from the chaos and clarity. Celebrating your wins is one of the ways you create clarity by remembering all that you've accomplished.

Here are 5 reasons why its important to celebrate your wins no matter how big:

1. Motivation: Celebrating small wins boosts motivation for you to continue pursuing your goal. The positive feedback reinforces your belief in yourself and your abilities. This is especially helpful when you feel discouraged or frustrated about your progress.
2. Simplicity: Celebrating successes helps you visualize progress and break down large goals into more manageable steps. This prevents you from feeling overwhelmed by the distance to your ultimate goal.
3. Brain Food: Celebrating creates a positive association in your brain between success and enjoyment, motivating you to repeat the behaviors that led to those wins. The more you celebrate, the more your brain is primed to seek out further achievements.
4. Inspiration: Sharing your victories and the lessons learned can inspire and benefit others on a similar journey. Celebrating your accomplishments is an opportunity to share knowledge and insights.
5. Self-Care: Regularly celebrating your wins, no matter how small, is an important form of self-care that boosts your motivation, self-confidence, and ability to achieve your goals. It helps you stay focused on your progress rather than just the end result.

Celebrating each win is crucial in pursuing goals.

Just as we celebrate milestones in our children's lives, we should also take time to acknowledge and celebrate our own accomplishments, no matter how small, to maintain motivation and progress towards our ultimate goals.

Never forget to celebreate your wins.

How do you celebrate?

Your action this week is to set time aside to celebrate some of your wins. This will help you build confidence you can leverage to accomplish your biggest goals.

If you are looking for a place to start, here are 3 things I do to celebrate my wins:

1. Daily Wins: at our dinner table, we have a ritual where we talk about our highs, lows, and what we’re grateful for that day. Often, the highs are daily wins. As we share these as a family, Sharing them with our kids shows them that hard work is important and enjoyable.
2. Weekly Wins: each Sunday, I look back at my wins from the previous week. I think about what I accomplished related to my goals and what were just good things about the week.
3. Practice Gratitude: being grateful forces you to look for wins in your life. You can’t be grateful and discouraged at the same time. By practicing gratitude, you will find wins all around you.