Ep261 Cheers to Wins: Big or Small, They Matter!
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Sara Mayer: [00:00:00] Hello, bold gold crushers! Welcome to the podcast where we crush our goals and live boldly. I'm your host, Sara Mayer. We're going to talk about the topic that is often overlooked, but incredibly important celebrating your wins. So we will discuss why it's critical to recognize both your small and big achievements and how this practice truly will keep you motivated.
Sara Mayer: So let's get started. It's July and almost July, and you are probably looking back on your New Year's resolutions or goals, and this is a great time. Celebrating wins is so important in our lives. There are so many things that are easy to get. In the way of us crushing our goals, and it's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle.
Sara Mayer: So always focusing on the next big goal, or the next milestone is normal. But if we don't take the time or a [00:01:00] moment to celebrate our achievements, we miss out on that key aspect of goal setting, and that's celebrating wins, both big and small, and it has several benefits. So first off. Celebrating your wins can truly boost your motivation.
Sara Mayer: So recognizing your achievements, no matter how small, provides a powerful boost of motivation. And it also reminds you that your efforts are paying off and you're making progress. It truly builds that muscle of achievement. It builds momentum. So each celebration adds to momentum. It's adding that fuel to the fire.
Sara Mayer: And each little success keeps that flame burning and does propel you forward to larger goals. It's also the positive reinforcement. I always think about when we were little kids, maybe this was just in my classroom, but we had a star chart. And I tried to get all little stars for certain things, and they had different colors that meant [00:02:00] different things, but celebrating rinse is the same as adults.
Sara Mayer: It reinforces the positive behavior and it conditions your brain to associate hard work and perseverance with positive outcomes, which make it more likely that you will continue to put in the effort. It enhances your well being, so taking time to celebrate and reflecting on your achievements can improve your overall well being.
Sara Mayer: It also allows you to savor the moment. It's not so much on to the next. It helps you appreciate your efforts and feel a sense of satisfaction and happiness. It encourages resilience as well. Celebrating wins helps build your resilience by acknowledging your progress and success. You will create that positive mindset that can help you navigate setbacks and challenges more effectively.
Sara Mayer: And now that we understand why celebrating wins is important, let's talk about how to do it. There [00:03:00] are so many ways, and I'm going to share some strategies to help you celebrate your achievements and keep the momentum going. First off, you can create a success journal. So one of the simplest ways is Create a success journal where you write down every achievement, no matter how big or small.
Sara Mayer: And this practice not only helps you keep track of your progress, but also serves as a reminder to how far you've come. And if you don't know, I have, Oh, that's the wrong one. I have a goal journal for high achievers. It's called driven to succeed. So this is a great place. I'll link this in the show notes.
Sara Mayer: If you're watching on YouTube, you're seeing it. If you're not watching on YouTube, why not? You should subscribe to the YouTube channel. So definitely share your wins. Don't keep your Achievements to yourself, share them with friends, family, or a sort of supportive community and sharing your success can amplify [00:04:00] your sense of accomplishment and also inspire others.
Sara Mayer: LinkedIn is a great place to share your wins as well. Reward yourself, treat yourself to something special when you achieve a goal. It doesn't have to be extravagant. It could be a movie night, taking a day off, buying yourself a small gift or indulging in your favorite activity. And then you can reflect and acknowledge, take a moment to reflect on your journey and acknowledge the hard work and effort.
Sara Mayer: Give yourself a pat on the back and reflecting on that process can help you appreciate the progress you've made along the way. And now it's time to celebrate your goal by breaking it into maybe mini goals so that for the future you are able to celebrate each milestone as you reach it. So this approach not only makes your goals a little more manageable, but provides more opportunities to celebrate along the way.
Sara Mayer: And then there's a great visual reminder. [00:05:00] Remember those star charts, you can have a vision board. You can create your own wall of fame. I love that idea with certificates or photos, or put it on your refrigerator like you did as a kid, or maybe even a digital slideshow of your accomplishments. Visual reminders can serve as a constant source of inspiration and motivation, and also to remind, you're doing a great job.
Sara Mayer: I have another idea I have in my email you did good file where people have sent me nice comments or things that I did good, or I send myself like screenshots of stuff that people post on social. So when I'm having a bad day, I can go into the, you did a good job folder and take a look. Gratitude practice.
Sara Mayer: This is another way you can incorporate gratitude into your celebration routine, where you take a moment to be grateful for the progress you've made and support. And we know that gratitude does have a correlation to positive [00:06:00] feelings, so this can help you move on your achievement. So let's dive a little bit deeper into celebrating wins.
Sara Mayer: Often we focus so much on those big goals that we forget the importance of the small steps along the way that get us there. So celebrating small wins is just as critical as celebrating the major milestone. And here's why. When we track our progress, small wins help you track that progress. and ensure you're on the right path.
Sara Mayer: They also, the small wins also provide immediate feedback and they can highlight areas where you may need to adjust your strategy. Small wins build confidence. Each small win helps reinforce the belief that you can achieve your goals step by step and growing this confidence can help you tackle bigger challenges with a positive mindset.
Sara Mayer: It also helps you maintain motivation. So regularly celebrating [00:07:00] small wins helps keep your motivation high, and it provides frequent reminders that your hard work is paying off, which can be incredibly motivating, especially during very long term projects. Creating a positive feedback loop. Small wins create a positive feedback loop.
Sara Mayer: Each success releases dopamine into your brain, making you feel good. And that encourages you to continue. Small wins also enhance focus. It reminds you that you're making progress and keeps you engaged in the process rather than getting overwhelmed by the bigger picture. So how can you celebrate small wins effectively?
Sara Mayer: Here are some ideas. Maybe daily reflections at the end of each day reflect on a small win you achieved and write them down to take a moment to appreciate your progress. I actually do that in my planner, in some planners, I'm showing this on YouTube, [00:08:00] but in some planners it has a day box.
Sara Mayer: And. I don't really write down like my calendar for the day. If my planner would be crazy if I did that, but I write down a daily reflection at the end of the day in that box, and it's a great way to then be able to reflect on your week and appreciate your progress. You can also do some mini celebrations.
Sara Mayer: We talked about that. It could be something as simple as enjoying a favorite snack, watching a movie, doing a happy dance. Whatever makes you happy. And then positive affirmations. Celebrating your small wins by acknowledging efforts. I'm proud of myself. Giving yourself a pat on the back. Sharing with others.
Sara Mayer: We talked about that. Even the small stuff gives people inspiration. All right, so now let's talk about celebrating your big wins. So your big wins are significant milestones that mark major achievements in your journey. Maybe it's the completion of a goal or a big part of your goal. [00:09:00] And this is essential for several reasons, acknowledging your effort and dedication.
Sara Mayer: Big wins represent a significant amount of time. And so it's important to have that celebration represent that. Thank you. Big wins also inspire others. We talked about that and building credibility. This builds your credibility. It shows you can set ambitious, bold goals and crush them, which enhances not only your reputation, but opens up new opportunities.
Sara Mayer: Big wins the celebration of them boost your morale and serve as a powerful reminder of what you're capable of and can help you tackle future challenges with increased confidence and enthusiasm. That's it. And big wins also create lasting memories. So to celebrate big wins effectively. I always love a good celebration.
Sara Mayer: So you could organize a celebration event either in person or virtually to mark the achievement. You could [00:10:00] invite family, friends and colleagues to join the celebration in success. You could share this publicly through social media, a blog post or newsletter. You could also reward yourself significantly, maybe taking yourself on vacation or reflecting and documenting the journey, which is so cool.
Sara Mayer: And then express gratitude to people who help support you along the way. I love a good teaser. So for example, in one of my nonprofits, we just voted to build a school in Guatemala and we're super excited about it. You can check it out. Go to the Joyride Society on any social media platform and you'll find it, but we did a little teaser like, Hey, we've been keeping a secret and we have a big surprise.
Sara Mayer: And then this happened. And so it can go for several days. And the feedback that we receive. is other people are inspired, but also we're inspiring ourselves. So in conclusion, celebrating wins, both [00:11:00] small and big is essential to the part of the goal setting process. It boosts motivation, builds momentum, reinforces positive behavior, enhances your overall wellbeing, and encourages others.
Sara Mayer: So take the time to celebrate your achievements. Not only to acknowledge your progress, but to set yourself and others up for success. All right. So thank you for joining me today on the bold goal crusher podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with someone who might benefit from it. And don't forget to hit that subscribe button on whatever platform you are listening to this or watching this for more episodes on crushing your goals and living boldly.
Sara Mayer: If you're not watching me on YouTube, definitely check me out on YouTube as well. So remember celebrate your wins, no matter how small and keep moving forward with confidence and determination until next time you can crush your goals and everything that gets in the way without working double [00:12:00] time. So let's get to it.
