Celebrate the small accomplishments.
It’s all too easy for us to be hard on ourselves. We self-flagellate when we make a mistake or miss a goal or deadline. Whether our mess-up is a small deal or a big deal, we’re likely to be fairly critical of ourselves.
Unfortunately, we don’t tend to recognize our accomplishments in a similar way. When we have smaller-scale or larger wins, we don’t usually put as much energy into feeling good. Our default may be to self-blame and not to self-praise.
When we do hit the mark, dopamine interacts with serotonin in our brain to create a feel-good sensation. The more we ensure we acknowledge our successes—large and small—the more often we’ll feel good. What we have or haven’t accomplished remains the same, but if we consciously praise ourselves, we’ll feel better overall.
Today’s message invites me to take more time to note what I achieve on a daily basis. When I celebrate my many small daily successes, I feel better about myself and life in general.
Please reflect and share. What small wins did you have today?