On September 15, 2012, Life Path Career Coaching first opened its doors to customers. It is now time to celebrate my 10-year anniversary of being a coach, small business owner and sole trader. And for that I am super excited and thrilled with my accomplishments. Although, upon reflection, I find it somewhat astonishing that I made it past the two-year mark, then the five-year mark and my business also survived the COVID pandemic. Taking all of this into consideration, it’s time to give myself a high-five and big pat on the back. I am celebrating this milestone with pride and happiness and in a public way – via blog and social media. Happy Anniversary to me!
Part of this blog is to also ask you, my reader, how do you celebrate your milestones? When you celebrate the small victories, you give yourself little hits of energy that will add up. Try it for yourself: think of something small you achieved today, or yesterday. Maybe you went for a walk even though it was cold outside, you are tired, and you didn’t want to. Tell yourself, “I am proud of myself for braving those terrible weather conditions to keep my body active.” These little celebrations inject you with boosts of energy that accumulate over time. Once you start experiencing more energy, you might notice feeling more motivated to accomplish all those items—whether large and small. This becomes a positive feedback loop. You accomplish something, celebrate, increase your energy to accomplish more, and repeat. In fact, there is evidence to suggest that celebrating the small victories leads you to accomplish even bigger ones.
Do you notice that children get very excited about small things. This keeps them happy and enthusiastic about life. (I often embrace my inner child, and in a mature way!) Then as we age, we become stodgy. It becomes difficult to get excited about things that do not qualify as big and significant. Sometimes, we fail to get excited by small things in a bid to impress other adults. The questions is, why do we limit our happiness to impress other people who simply do not care and are just as grumpy as us?
I choose to celebrate the small things every day and one a frequent basis I will honour my achievements with rewards. For example, getting a massage, buying a bunch of flowers, going out for morning tea, taking an extra hour for my lunch and going for a walk, or raising a glass of champagne to something more significant. It is important for us to acknowledge what we achieve and how it makes us feel. If you get excited about small things, let it show, laugh, have a small party, dance or jump around. If you feel happy because you were finally able to do that small thing that you have struggled with for a long time, then get excited about it. Let it be your small win!
Here are some other tips:
- Bask in the victory of having accomplished an important task or goal, because it will increase your level of happiness.
- Communicate your small wins. Human beings are social beings. We communicate with each other to share ideas, knowledge or moments. Therefore, if you experience a small victory, tell someone who cares about you and the outcome.
- When verbalising and sharing your wins, this motivates you to keep setting goals and reaching those small victories. Another advantage is that in sharing your successes, it motivates others around you. It’s a win-win situation!
- Our brains are also wired to respond to rewards. Celebrating the completion of small accomplishments leads to the completion of larger goals.
According to research by Teresa Amabile from Harvard Business School, people who tracked their small achievements every day enhanced their motivation. For example, the simple practice of recording your progress helps you to appreciate your small wins which in turn boosts your sense of confidence. Why? Any accomplishment, no matter how small, releases the neurotransmitter dopamine which boosts your mood, motivation and attention. So, what can you celebrate today? How will you celebrate? How does it feel to congratulate yourself? Remember to celebrate every success along the way, even the small steps!
