Failures are inevitable no matter who you are. It is our attitude about failure that determines whether we have the energy and motivation to keep going versus giving up all together because the goal we’re working toward just seems too big. One important and effective way to stay motivated is to celebrate your small victories along the way. Every time you reach a milestone on a big goal, do something to treat yourself! Reward yourself for a job well done and to release those ever-important pleasure chemicals in your brain. This will allow you to stay motivated much more easily as you and your body will be looking forward to that next reward.
Everyone has a different way of celebrating, so pick something that you can do or experience that will give you the most feelings of pleasure. In this way, you can condition yourself to keep going through any setbacks and failures because you’re training your mind and body to experience a happy reward when you accomplish a step toward your goal.
The Top Five Reasons to Celebrate Your Smaller Victories
There are numerous reasons to celebrate your small victories, and as a mindful leader, you should pass that habit and the wisdom surrounding it on to your team so that they can also be more successful. Let’s take a closer look at exactly why it’s good to celebrate even small wins.
1. Positive reinforcement helps keep everyone motivated and on track. This includes you as well as anyone on your team, and having celebrations or bonuses to keep people encouraged is definitely recommended.
2. Lighten your load with a celebration. If you’re part of a startup or just beginning to build your business, the road will seem long and your goals daunting. If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you’re more likely to work yourself to death than to take a breather and celebrate, so this is where mindfulness comes into play when you’re the boss. Remember: there’s nothing wrong with taking a day off once in a while or going out to eat with your family or team to celebrate.
3. Is your company fun to work for? Depending on your habits and how your reward system is set up for your team, you’re automatically sending out an impression into the universe. When people observe you and your team from an outside perspective, will they see creativity, innovation, and collaboration? Or will they see tempers flaring and arguments? If you practice celebrating small victories, it helps to reduce stress and makes everyone a little happier to work hard because they know there will be some kind of fun reward at the end of it.
4. Because of this stress reduction, your team (and you) are less likely to fall victim to your negative emotions like anger and stress. It’s easier to let go of the small things that go wrong and remain open to solutions from the whole team if you’re not angry or feeling particularly negative. Remember to eat, too, so you don’t get hangry. ;)
5. Ask your team for input on how they would want to celebrate. If you involve your team, not only will they feel personally included and valued, but then the team can participate in planning the celebration, lightening everyone’s load so that people can enjoy the party and keep stress levels low during the planning phase. It’s called “throwing” a party, and sometimes the most enjoyable ones are casually thrown together with minimal planning in advance.
No matter the size of your company, your team, your business, or what stage you are in, celebrating your small victories is an important way to keep yourself and everyone else involved, motivated, and eager to continue working, which is especially important during the first year or two of your business starting. However, it remains important especially when you’re growing or expanding, and even if your company winds up being fairly large, it will never be too successful to celebrate.
Remember, all work and no play isn’t healthy! Take the time to celebrate your small accomplishments so that you can better enjoy the big accomplishments as well. These small celebrations will make your entire journey toward success much easier and more enjoyable. And isn’t that journey what it’s all about?
For more information about the Mindfulness Movement and the International Mindfulness Federation, we invite you to visit our Mindfulness Resources page:
http://www.executivecoachinguniversity.com/mindfulness-movement
