Why Celebrating Small Wins is Empowering!
By Maxine Castro
When was the last time you celebrated a small win of yours? Were you able to feel all those positive emotions while keeping track of your daily accomplishments or are you someone who feels like you’re not making any significant progress? Well, don’t worry, you are not alone! I also experience these emotions from time to time, especially when almost everyone around me was making visible progress towards their goals. Before, I would feel unmotivated and my self-confidence was low, although eventually I realized that celebrating my small wins helps me be consistent in the effort I exert, allows me to recognize my growth, and shapes my positive outlook with my work or personal life despite setbacks I might face.
Through this article, you will learn the value of celebrating your small wins, the power it holds in leading you towards greater heights & improving your overall well-being, and how you can celebrate your small wins everyday!
What exactly are small wins?
According to Miller (2021), small wins are anything that you accomplish that is aligned with your intentions. These accomplishments can be associated with your work, personal life, behavioral changes and so on.
I have also asked some of the current members of Positive Workplaces what comes into their mind when they hear “small wins” and here’s what they’ve shared:
The Small Tasks You Accomplish
“Small wins mean celebrating even the minor tasks that you have… I usually write down the things that I have to do, example if I need to write a paper…I break it into smaller chunks like reading references, writing an outline so that I can tick it off my list and feel more productive. In that manner I make my tasks bearable...or if I’m having a normal day, I really love appreciating the small wins…like even getting out of bed, or finishing the day because for me that’s already a win.” - Jhoyce
“...I think about the everyday tasks that I am able to accomplish. In light of the pandemic, there are lesser opportunities to succeed, fewer competitions to join, and at the same time, it's very hard for us to be motivated…The phrase, "small wins", is really such a positive outlook on the act of being able to really try one's best to accomplish everyday tasks. Moreover, I also believe that small consistent acts accumulate into a huge impact.” - Ezra
Small Wins are your Stepping Stones
“I view it differently, depends on the context. Small wins for me could be like a stepping stone! I like to think of it as a small milestone that leads me to my ultimate big win. But sometimes I think of it as "Things are not doing great right now, but here's something small yet significant that I accomplished", either way small win for me is like a booster that helps me keep going.” - Mea
“For me, small wins are things that you consider to contribute to the life you want to have. It can be anything from being consistent with your meditation routine to completing a project!” - Celine
“...small wins are just like good things that happen or if I’m able to accomplish whatever task, however small. I think it’s trying fight the mindset of feeling bad when sometimes, you’re only able to do the bare minimum. Letting yourself rest to compose yourself so you can do better the next time around is also productive!” - Raffy
The Value of Celebrating our Small Wins
Looking back on my past experiences while also reading the responses of the current members of Positive Workplaces on what they can associate with the term “small wins”, it struck me on how powerful small wins are and the importance of recognizing them and being intentional about celebrating it.
If you’re still pondering on how significant our small wins could be, here are a few benefits you may experience:
Builds Us Up for A Big Win
The journey towards accomplishing any task or goal may seem long and exhausting but when we become intentional about celebrating our small wins, it helps us achieve greater success and it can even enhance our motivation as proven in the research of Amabile and Kramer (2011) who also developed the progress theory which highlighted how achieving consistent, small wins is an indicator of a rich inner work life and that it also boosts your performance (Regents of the University of Minnesota, 2022; Mind Tools, n.d.). So before you start doubting how far you’ve come, take a moment to reflect on how your series of small wins is something empowering and that the effort you put in contributes towards your progress in achieving anything.
Keeps us Engaged Towards our Goals & Creates a Positive Outlook on Life
Being intentional and consistent with celebrating our small wins or progress can give us boosts of energy and make us feel engaged and happy (Kramer & Amabile, 2011). This then creates a “positive feedback loop” wherein we become more motivated to tick off more tasks on our to-do list, celebrate our wins, and gradually achieve even bigger successes (Miller, 2021). On top of that, our brain is able to focus more on the positive aspects of our life because we are able to change the way we perceive our accomplishments and embrace the path we are on (Argetsinger, 2016; Regents of the University of Minnesota, 2022).
Here’s to Celebrating your Small Wins!
Now that we’re able to grasp the power of small wins, we can take a step forward in pursuing a life that is brimming with positive energy, celebrating small accomplishments, and trusting in the gradual process that brings us closer to where we want to be and other goals we want to achieve. Here are a few ways you could start with:
Take a moment to reflect and appreciate your small wins
If we want to relish the benefits that come with our small wins, it is important that we keep track of them. To do this, you can take a few minutes before going to bed to write down what you are grateful for each day and a small win you want to celebrate. It can be as simple as getting out of bed to start your day, eating healthy, or completing a task you have been putting off (Morris, 2020; New Beginnings Counseling, 2021; Argetsinger, 2016).
Treat yourself
Acts of self-love such as rewarding yourself is another thing you could do to celebrate your small accomplishments. You can watch your favorite show, invest in a new hobby you wanted to try, or give yourself time to just recharge for the next day. Doing these things can definitely improve your overall mood and keep you engaged in taking on your next task (Morris, 2020).
Share your success with others
It is good to vocalize your small wins and have someone to talk to about it, be it a friend, family member, or even your mentor. This creates a chance for you to receive positive feedback from others and use it as a motivation to aim for even greater success (Morris, 2020).
To give yourself a head start, what’s a small win you want to celebrate today? You might also relate with the small wins of a few of our current Positive Workplaces members:
“A small win that I want to celebrate this week would be finishing all my academic activities before midterms!” - Mea
“For this week, a small win that I want to celebrate is that I was able to balance being productive with being able to rest” - Ezra
“I was able to adapt quickly to a lot of unexpected things at work! I had to coordinate on a lot of collaborative projects with other people and some things came up that we didn't expect during the planning phase, but we were able to adjust right away and everything went well!” - Raffy
And when things get tough, you can also remember that“big goals are important, they are what guide us, but it’s falling in love with the everyday hustle and the small wins that get us there” (Argetsinger, 2016).
