Celebrating Your Wins
Some time back I came across a quote (sorry, but I don’t know where it originated) that really marked me. It read…
If you never celebrate your wins, it will seem like you’re always losing.
I think this is especially true in the distressing times we find ourselves in. We’ve all experienced no shortage of losses recently and we can readily recite those.
However, how often do you really take the time to celebrate the wins in your life and ministry? If you’re like many of us, you probably don’t do this nearly often enough.
To be sure, when a major victory is realized, you need to mark the moment. And that’s an important thing to remember. Just as title-winning teams hang the championship banner, so you can commemorate your win.
But what about when events take place or challenges are faced and you don’t feel like it was a big win? It’s then that we would do well to look for the little wins that occurred.
Maybe things didn’t turn out as we dreamed, but where did we make progress? Perhaps the situation wasn’t resolved perfectly, but where did we gain some traction?
The win may be in how the team pulled together in a new way. It may be in how an individual stepped up for the first time. It may be how you or someone else were willing to take a risk.
These little wins, while not banner worthy, can still be celebrated. And, as that happens, it will mitigate against a sense of losing.
If you never celebrate your wins, it will seem like you’re always losing.
The thing is that taking the time to recognize and celebrate your success has many benefits. Here are seven ways that savoring these past successes can benefit your present and even impact your future.
7 Benefits of Celebrating Your Wins
1. You can refer back to your wins and relive the feeling of accomplishment you had.
This can give you a confidence boost at a time when you might be feeling down. Here’s a creative idea. Write each win on a post-it, fold it, and put it into a bowl. Draw the from bowl whenever you need a little boost. You’ll realize that you have in fact had some wins.
2. By recognizing wins, you can reflect on what went into the win and use it in future efforts.
What made you successful? What can you replicate from this experience? What did you learn? Pull out the key pieces that made it a win and build on those pieces to create even more and bigger wins!
3. Celebrating can inspire those around you to celebrate.
Just like taking risks can inspire others to step out of their comfort zone and take their own risks, celebrating your wins can help others reflect on and recognize their own wins. Don’t be afraid to put it out into the world that you’re celebrating and while you’re doing it ask others to share what they’re celebrating.
One way we did this was in our weekly staff lunches. Before we launched into any challenges that were before us, the opportunity was given for individuals to celebrate the wins behind us.
4. Talking about your wins can encourage others to take what you learned and apply it to their lives.
Through recognizing and celebrating our accomplishments we can teach others what helped us be successful. By acknowledging your win, others can take what you learned and give it a try themselves. In this way, your celebration is serving not only yourself but also others!
5. Celebrating our wins provides recognition to those who helped us with the achievement.
Often our success is tied to the work we’ve done with others whether it was something we collaborated on or someone was cheering us on from the sidelines. By celebrating the win it shows those around us that we value and appreciate their help – which in turn gives them something to celebrate.
I had one staff member who was great at this. After a major event, she sent out an email to the entire staff where she noted how every single person contributed to the win, describing the key role they played. As you might imagine, morale went through the roof.
Celebrating our wins shows those around us that we value and appreciate their help – which in turn gives them something to celebrate.
6. The effect of celebrating can have a positive impact on our brains which can, in turn, lead to further positive changes.
According to an article in Psychology Today, various chemicals in our brain are elevated when we celebrate. For example, the increase in endorphins can facilitate experimentation and risk-taking. The triggering of serotonin is can result in greater focus, innovation, and motivation. The release of dopamine during celebrations can set you up for higher levels of concentration and allow you to filter out or ignore distracting information. All of these chemical reactions in our brains drive further positive outcomes and even more success.
7. By celebrating smaller tasks and recognizing those wins you’re building confidence and momentum to continue to tackle larger future tasks.
You don’t have to wait for major accomplishments in your life to celebrate. Recognizing the smaller wins can have both an immediate and a future impact. In other words, celebration can lead to even more celebration.
Celebrating your wins is a winning strategy. So how are you planning on bringing more celebration into your life? I’d love to hear some of your ideas in the comments section below.
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