What Are Small Achievements?
They can be anything you achieve that is consistent with your future goals. They might be related to work, personal or professional relationships, quitting a bad habit, or any other aspect of your life.
Most of us might overlook these achievements and view them superficially, particularly if we are self-critical or constantly aim for perfection and do not take pleasure in our work. Suppose you wish to be less judgmental of other people. Committing to do this could be a small achievement. Whenever you consider berating someone for a basic spelling error, you wait a little while and ignore it to avoid insulting them or to help them correct their errors by providing them with consistent writing feedback.
Observing your own thoughts might cause you to question why certain people write poorly and fear that you will repeat their mistakes in the future. This is what gives you awareness that serves as the driving force for all life changes.
Why Should We Celebrate Small Achievements and Not Big Ones?
Instead of celebrating small achievements, why don't we wait for big achievements to be at their peak?
Imagine you won $3 million. How would you celebrate a big win like this? You will feel excited and amazed, but will you enjoy happiness and satisfaction forever?
Research indicates that people who earn large sums of money are more satisfied with their quality of life in general, but they might not experience daily happiness more than others. This might be surprising, as small achievements add happiness that is renewed daily, unlike big achievements, which give you great happiness but may not last forever.
There are many articles extolling the benefits of celebrating small achievements. Happiness is one of dozens of reasons you should celebrate them routinely.
Reasons to Celebrate Small Achievements
1. Boosting energy
It might be difficult to achieve anything when your energy is low, which makes sense. When your energy is low, a trainer motivating you will help you get up and train more than seeing a treadmill. Likewise, when you celebrate every small achievement, you will give yourself a little energy that increases over time. It is known that many people prefer to lie on the couch instead of exercising.
Consider a small task you accomplished today despite being tired and not wanting to, like gardening or taking out the trash before a windy day. Say to yourself, “I'm so proud to have braved these terrible weather conditions to keep the house clean and safe.” You can celebrate another small achievement like drinking green tea instead of coffee in the evening when you want to regulate your sleep.
Over time, you will notice that these small achievements give you more energy that will build up inside you. Even though you still hate cleaning and taking out the trash, you will at least have the energy to do it.
Once you have more energy, you may feel more motivated to accomplish all those big and small tasks on your to-do list, creating a feedback loop. You accomplish something and celebrate it to boost your energy to achieve more. The gains continue again and again.
Plenty of evidence suggests that celebrating small achievements motivates you to achieve greater achievements and vice versa. It will be difficult to complete large tasks if you do not complete small tasks.
2. Personal and professional progress
Celebrating small wins helps you track your progress, which is good when you're trying to build a new habit or make a lifestyle change. One of the biggest challenges we face is changing or modifying behaviour, but this will be more beneficial for progress and development on a personal or professional level. It is easy to fall into the “all or nothing” trap.
For example, many people might give up if they cannot achieve a behavioural change - such as quitting smoking - for the first time. You can employ positive reinforcement by celebrating small achievements so that you will be able to get back on track and not give up. When you celebrate that you have only smoked three cigarettes a day, this will motivate you to smoke only two cigarettes the next day.
Progress in any area of life requires extra effort and using the right tools. Celebrating small achievements is an intentional tool you can use to become the person you want to be, which is good for you to make it a tangible reality and achieve your vision for yourself.
3. Self-love
It is said that education is the most important investment you will ever make. Imagine that you are trying to obtain a university degree. Still, you keep criticising yourself for the smallest mistakes you commit, causing you anxiety before every exam you take. If you do not love yourself, it will not matter how much money you spend on your education; you will never get a degree.
Know that self-love is the best investment you will ever make and should accompany you throughout your life. When you love yourself unconditionally, you can overcome any obstacles in your life. Celebrating your small achievements is one way to take care of yourself.
We celebrate weddings and birthdays because celebrations show our love for others. Likewise, when you celebrate your small achievements, you emphasise your love for yourself, which is a way to notice the level of your achievements. It helps you rely more on your positive feedback instead of waiting for others’ opinions of you. Since pleasing people is an unachievable goal, do not wait for others to appreciate you and start appreciating all your small achievements.
On the other hand, self-love leads to better relationships with others, as you show others how you want to be treated. Self-love is not just bragging; it shows others that you are interested in the smallest details in your life, meaning that you can notice small details in your relationship with them or in the lives of others.
When you celebrate your gains, you will encourage others to do the same and celebrate theirs as well. You will soon find yourself surrounded by people who celebrate each other's successes and share a sense of satisfaction and happiness in life.
4. Feeling happy
According to psychologist Dr. James Hollis, “Our quest for happiness is actually not the focus of our lives. Instead, designing our lives around finding meaning would be in our best interest.”
So, we talk about happiness in most articles celebrating small achievements _ including this one _ because happiness is what we all want in life. As we know, the path to what we want is not direct and paved.
Hollis said, “Joy and happiness are not goals in themselves, but the by-product of those moments when we are doing what is really right for us.”
Happiness is really a by-product. When we are fully engaged in our lives, our self-confidence increases, our actions are aligned with our intentions, we love ourselves more, and we live a life full of meaning. So, if you want happiness, you must find meaning in your life. Celebrating small achievements might be one of the incentives to find this meaning.
If you are not ready to give up pursuing happiness, try to view it as a job. If you want an effective way to engage in this work, try celebrating all your small achievements.
In Conclusion
Consider keeping a daily journal of your small achievements and reading it at the end of each week. This will help you collect and remember them. If you want to experience greater gains, read your journal at the end of the year to see your level and how many achievements you have achieved during an entire year.
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