How do you celebrate your wins⁉️

A client of mine recently crossed a huge personal and professional milestone. When I asked what they were going to do to celebrate it, they told me that they had no plans. Further, they explained that when their work wanted to formally recognise their success, they snuck out of a back door to avoid being the center of attention.

This is a problem…

Failing to personally recognise and acknowledge when you have met, or even superseded your goals can have long term negative impacts.

If we accept that confidence is developed alongside competence and character, then it should be clear that we ought to be able to openly acknowledge our wins without embarrassment, shame, or chagrin.

Failing to acknowledge personal victories can lead to dissonance in the form of un-warranted imposter syndrome or low self-esteem.

I challenged my client to go out and celebrate their victory. This was a bit of a barrier for them, but they were willing to push the envelope and try.

My client ended up celebrating twice:

Firstly, over dinner with family and a bottle of bubbles 🥂– taking ownership and credit for what they had achieved and how it would change things for their family moving forwards.

Secondly, in solitude and nature 🌲🌴🌳– taking stock of the journey that had led to this success, meditating on the mini highs and lows, identifying lessons learnt and understanding how far they had come.

By doing this they were able to put to bed the goals that had motivated them up until now, and further were able to think about what future challenges lay ahead.

For so many of us, when recognised for an achievement publicly, our default setting can be awkward, bashful and embarrassed. 😳 That is natural.

But I challenge all of you to find time to celebrate your wins as well as reflecting on your losses. It does not have to be a huge party (but it can).

What is important is that you recognise the successful progression along life’s journey and that you accept your own value.

Over time, this will help to create a foundation of genuine confidence and allow you to move forward with your head held high.

If the cost is a moment or two of embarrassment at being the center of attention in recognition of what you have achieved, I think it’s most probably worth it.