Why we need to celebrate the small things

When do you celebrate? How do you celebrate? And do you celebrate enough?

I’m writing this in May, and inspired by all the green around me right now I just want to celebrate every single bit of growth! But do I want to celebrate all of my own growth? Do you? Or does it feel a bit icky to ‘celebrate’? Is it (eek!) showing off to make a fuss of our achievements?

What does it mean to celebrate?

Does the word ‘celebrate’ feel too big to you sometimes…? The typical definitions suggest it might…

• to commemorate an event with festivities
• to make publicly known
• to praise widely
• to perform with ceremony

So maybe, like me, you picture a party, a meal, something organised and with other people… something BIG. I’ve come to realise that’s not helpful, at all, especially for the quieter ones amongst us, the ones who don’t like a fuss, or to be the centre of attention, BUT I know it’s incredibly important to recognise our growth, so I’ve decided to give celebrating a more everyday feel, looking for the little things to celebrate, every day.

Where can you find everyday celebrations?

For me the garden is a great place to start… yes I know that nature is doing most of the hard work, but I planted those plants and I’m nurturing them too, so everyday I take my morning brew for a walk and see what’s grown, cheering to myself, talking to the greenery and feeling thoroughly uplifted (even if I look a bit silly grinning to myself in an empty garden!)

And in my work I’m spotting all the little wins too, each tick on my list, each paragraph written, each new subscriber or email reply – every single little thing goes towards making the ‘big’ successes. We simply cannot make the big things without the small things!

How celebrating boosts self-belief

Listen, I’m sure you already know that celebrating your successes and the small wins is all part of feeling better about yourself, of building your self belief, of noticing the evidence for what you really are capable of, instead of dismissing your achievements and feeling a bit flat…

But even though you know that, do you still only celebrate when you achieve the big stuff? when you reach 100%? Or… will you only celebrate when you get to 110%? (yes I’ve been guilty of this one…those times when even 100% isn’t enough…)

What if you reach 95%? Can you celebrate then? Because, honestly, that’s still awesome!

What if you take the first step, say 5%, and you do a cracking job and then for whatever reason the second step doesn’t happen, do you still celebrate what you did achieve?

Because if you only ever celebrate when you have absolutely finished every last part of your project, of your business plan, ticked every single box, then you are not recognising and celebrating all of those tiny but necessary steps along the way… and they are each a brilliant opportunity for you to give yourself one more nudge up that self-belief ladder.

How to find things to celebrate

Take some time out to really notice where you are at on your current projects, or with clients, or with family. What has been challenging? What’s changed, new, or working really well?

Have you…

• made the decision to start something new?
• or made yourself a clear plan?
• have you ticked one single box?

Yes? Go celebrate those things! They all count. Every last one, each a step on that self-belief ladder. And you deserve to enjoy the climb!

Let me know what you achieved, and how you celebrated, I love reading your emails 🙂