Wondering why celebrating matters? What does celebrating do for your mind and motivation? Need help with healthy ideas for how to celebrate wins? Read on!
Only a couple New Year’s Days ago, I realized something: I couldn’t see any wins from the previous year.
I was no closer to my goals than I’d been before. I felt like all I could see were failure and disappointment, leaving me with the messages to strive harder and do better.
Who relates?
Looking over it all, I realized that it wasn’t because I didn’t have anything to celebrate. I just wasn’t intentionally looking for those wins. And because I couldn’t see them, I couldn’t enjoy the victories.
Why Celebrating Matters
Why do celebrations matter? Aren’t they just like parties and holidays and bonus fun things to take a break from everyday work and challenges?
Actually, they matter a lot.
Taking time to celebrate is a reward that reinforces good choices and behavior. It gives you motivation for the goals and steps forward you want to take.
Celebrations make us appreciate life more, and give us something to look forward to.
They build resilience for more challenging times, so that you can be confident good things are coming when the going gets tough.
Celebrations can help us focus on what’s most important, setting priorities and boundaries for what we go after and what we enjoy.
And they can happen anytime, in many different ways.
God Loves Celebrations!
Another reason why celebrating matters: God loves to celebrate with us.
One thing that stands out to me in the book of Deuteronomy is the intentional instructions for celebration days, like in Deuteronomy 16. God doesn’t just tell his people to set a date in a calendar, or check things off a list. It says multiple times in the chapter to “enjoy yourselves.” It’s something to plan for, look forward to, and to rejoice over the blessings God has given that year, truly connecting with each other and him.
I also appreciate his call to rest on the Sabbath – a reward of sorts. The Sabbath and applying it to our new covenant lives is still something I’m figuring out, but God makes it clear that it is an important thing. It’s a way to refresh and connect with him and our families.
What to Know About Celebrating
Celebrating small wins (and big ones too) is important. But how we go about it makes a difference. Here’s some reasons why:
Positive reinforcement is more powerful than negative. We get more out of rewarding ourselves than we do by punishing, berating, and withholding something from ourselves.
Celebrating and rewards work better as reinforcement if you practice them consistently, and as soon as possible.
Celebrating, like most things in life, takes intention, if we really want to get the most out of it. Not always forethought, but often an intentional decision to rejoice over something, even if it’s just a pat on your own back.
Where We Can Have Trouble With Celebrating
Not that we should tear ourselves down for “celebrating the wrong way”. But this may help identify some unhealthy choices we can make in this area, and celebrate in a healthy way instead.
I can tend to:
Ignore them in favor of the next thing I have to do.
Forget about them until it’s too late to make an impact, and I lose the motivation.
Go to the wrong places to get a dopamine boost (like social media), and feel disappointed when I don’t get it.
Feed my comparison monster by ranking my progress next to someone else’s.
Treat myself whenever I feel like it, and end up not finding true satisfaction in the wins that mean something.
Treat myself to things that aren’t healthy, and overindulge.
Pick a “treat” that is actually something I should be doing anyway, which means I typically deprive myself of something I need. (Like: I’ll eat lunch when I’m done with this work.)
Don’t get me wrong. Celebrations don’t need to be rote. But it helps to know: what unhealthy celebration or reward practices do you fall into? For me, I need a few mindset changes when it comes to celebrations.
Happy Hormones that are Part of Our Celebrations
Lots of thanks to this article, where I did the research for the following information.
Serotonin: a neurotransmitter that sends messages through the body and affect mood, emotions, appetite, digestion, and even sleep cycles. Low serotonin is connected to depression and mental health issues. Most of it origins in your gut. (So healthy gut, happier mind!)
Oxytocin: a chemical released that promotes bonding and trust, and helps regulate stress responses and calm the nervous system. It’s a response to stimulation of the senses, often involved with other people (like hugs or eye contact) – which is why we need to celebrate and experience joy with other people too. Higher levels linked to feeling loved, being responsive, and gratitude.
Dopamine: a hormone involved in motor control and cognitive function, motivation and rewards system, decision-making and impulse control, memory and attention, maternal and reproductive behaviors. It releases when you feel pleasure sensations and keeps you coming back for more. Half of the dopamine in your body originates in the gut (again, healthy gut, happier mind).
Endorphins: natural painkillers. When they rush to the brain, dopamine is released, which makes you feel happy and want more. (Like when you experience a runner’s high.)
Healthy Ways to Celebrate Wins
Knowing why celebrating matters for our wellbeing, here are some way to celebrate wins, big or small, in your life. Whatever you do, take some time to savor it.
Tell someone or speak it out loud to yourself
Write it down / journal it
Give a hug or a high five
Have a dance party (create a playlist just for celebrating)
Take a photo
Toss some confetti or blow some bubbles
Get a balloon or some flowers
Pray
Use a special face mask, scrub, nail polish, or bath soak
Hang up proof of your victory somewhere overt, like on your wall or on a fridge
Take out that thing you’ve been saving for a special occasion (like a gift card)
Dress up, or wear your favorite outfit
Light a candle
Travel to a favorite spot, like a pretty view or near water
Create something and put a date on it, so you can remember the day you had this win (I.e. color a picture, write a poem, etc.)
Invite friends over to celebrate with you
Be Mindful with These Types of Celebrations
You might notice I didn’t include food, drinks, or shopping above. You can absolutely celebrate with any of these things, but be mindful of how you do it. These are the areas we can tend to overindulge, or could even become addictive.
Avoid overindulgence. Set limits ahead of time.
Don’t deprive yourself of nutrition or basic needs until you have a win.
If you always go to the same rewards, try something new.
Finally if you’re experiencing addictive tendencies or compulsion, please don’t hesitate to reach out and get help. It’s not something that serves you well, now or long-term.
How about you?
Are you convinced as to why celebrating matters? How do you celebrate big and small wins?
Photo Credit:
1 – Seyedeh Hamideh Kazemi on Unsplash
2 – Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
3 – Laura Fuhrman on Unsplash
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