The Power of Celebrating Success: How Acknowledging Wins Boosts Productivity and Well-Being

Picture this…You set lofty goals for the year and, one by one, you are accomplishing them like no one’s business! Big wins are happening left and right. Your internal “happy dance” is in salsa mode and you feel like everything is falling into place. But you’re moving so quickly that “celebrating” is simply setting the next goal. So, you take a step back to reflect. You look around at your larger team and realize no one is celebrating with you. You wonder…Does anyone notice? Does anyone care? Does this even matter? Let’s celebrate those wins!

Can you relate? This was literally my story just a few years ago. I was swimming in wins…but I was also drowning in a work addiction. I never took the time to stop, reflect and intentionally celebrate the accomplishments that were earned from hard work and tenacity. The people around me couldn’t have cared less about me accomplishing my goals. It was just business as usual.

When we don’t take the time to honor our accomplishments–it’s almost as if they didn’t matter in the first place. As leaders in the workplace, it’s our responsibility to celebrate the successes of those around us.

A recent Inc. Magazine article noted that “celebrating our accomplishments is critical to our success.” They made three BIG points to support this argument:

1. The Act of 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.
2. Celebrating Strengthens Your Relationships. Your own celebration is contagious and those around you want to share in your success. As accomplishments are properly recounted, new ideas and opportunities are formed and shared.
3. Your Celebrations Attract More Success. Success begets more success, so it’s only natural to build upon existing momentum, especially during events of celebration.

Knowing these facts, I conducted an informal poll amongst my LinkedIn network. I asked, “How do you celebrate when you accomplish a goal?” I received 95 responses, which are outlined in the chart below. Not surprisingly, the majority of folks celebrated with food and drinks. But right next to that, people said they “set another goal.” In my mind, that means they’re rewarding themselves with more work–not actually celebrating what was accomplished. Am I wrong?

If I add that percentage up to the people who said they did nothing, that makes 19% of people do nothing to celebrate their success. Now, I know this is an unscientific small sample, but I have to believe there’s truth behind these numbers.

We simply don’t celebrate enough.

So, let’s celebrate the next time you or someone in your life has a big or little win! A toast over a glass of wine or even sparkling water can go a very long way in connecting us to our purpose and feeling good in life. The little things are the big things!