Big Wins, Little Wins and the Power of Celebration

By: Cathy Marinacci Categories: Learning, development & personal growth

Written on the 10th June 2022.


How important are little wins and what role do they play in contributing to our success and personal development? What is their link to motivation and what is the value in setting mini milestones?

Nicki loves to listen to Claudia Winkleman on her Saturday Radio 2 show, when she invites both celebrities and the public, to call in and express their ‘little wins’. This segment cleverly illustrates that whether you are a huge celebrity or completely unknown, small wins transcend fame or fortune and are what links our human spirit. However, there’s a bit more to ‘little wins’ and how they are crucial in shaping our home and work lives.

Small Steps

What exactly are small wins? In essence, ‘little wins’ are anything you accomplish that aligns with your intentions. This could be hitting your target of drinking enough water in a day or speaking up about your idea in a team meeting.

Why should we take time to acknowledge these small accomplishments, when we could be striving to reach those bigger goals, such as getting fitter, or becoming an expert in an area at work?

1. It fuels our energy and in turn our general motivation

When we are mindful of positive steps in our day, that feeling of celebration has a knock-on effect of charging our impetus to carry on with the next task on our list, and if the next job looks challenging for us, this is very helpful! This article in the Harvard Business Review talks of the ‘progress principle’ which recognises that even small wins can boost morale enough to journey along to big wins. Constant moments of self-congratulation will charge up that internal battery to make it more likely that you will face each task with a positive attitude and that these small accomplishments will all lead up to that ‘big win’ in the near future. “Being positive won’t guarantee you’ll succeed. But being negative will guarantee you won’t.” Jon Gordon (Author and speaker on the topics of leadership, culture, and teamwork)

2. To support both our professional and personal growth

Every day, it’s important to acknowledge how far we’ve come, both at home and at work. Linking to Juniper’s May theme of ‘reflection’, if we regularly review progress against our objectives, this positive reinforcement underpins a ‘progress loop’ and boosts our ‘Why’. This is true both at work and at home.

It’s not helpful to beat ourselves up for slipping up one day if we have a caffeine heavy day or lose our confidence in a team talk. We need to have the self-awareness to acknowledge we’re human and imperfect, and that next time we’ll try again.

When we are open about our successes as well as our failures, it breaks down barriers at all levels. If we have a leader who is open about where they started and speaks up about his or her daily wins and failures, success suddenly seems more possible as we realise we too can achieve that big goal!

As one past Juniper programme participant said recently, “I’m not sure I would be where I am today without the support of you and the Juniper team!”. We are proud to have supported so many of our alumnae over the last 20 years. It can be incredibly motivating to vocalise a ‘win’ too. For example, only last week, Emily said that when a participant spoke up to give some excellent feedback about her input live on a programme, she found it hugely rewarding.

3. Know yourself, both the positive and negative

We hear the phrase ‘be kind to yourself’ often, but what does it mean? To be engaged with ourselves and our lives, we can only build from a strong base, and it is therefore fundamental to notice how amazing we are. Reflecting on and consciously championing your small wins is an excellent way to actively acknowledge your own achievements and affirm your self-respect.

Being aware that certain things could have gone better is a good thing, as it helps us focus on what we can improve upon or what might be a better task for a colleague. It’s important to know your strengths and weaknesses, and that what you bring to the team has a unique value and is part of a bigger, progressive whole.

4. Happiness

Is happiness something you should strive for every day and how can we achieve this?

Happiness adds meaning to your day, which builds a feeling of making a positive contribution and difference to both your and others’ lives. One comment from the HBR article mentioned above is: “The key to motivating performance is supporting progress in meaningful work.” Unless you derive value from it, you’re never going to feel motivated and progressive. The pandemic has led many of us to look for more meaning and satisfaction with our work, as we want to be clear of our value as a team member that contributes to a united goal – the all-important ‘Why’.

Worth remembering is: “Happiness is not a goal. It’s a by-product of a life well lived.” Eleanor Roosevelt

Little wins are not as intimidating as big wins. They create a feeling of ‘I can achieve that!’, that underpins positive feelings and helps connect people. If we fix and celebrate mini milestones, we can create positive and consistent daily habits that grow. Each of us is in control of how we react and learn from every situation, so if we carefully choose our thought flow, this will sustain our growth, plus have a positive knock-on effect on those around us.

Whether reaching a career milestone or gaining a small win on a weekday; all achievements, whether big or small, are significant. If we congratulate ourselves on the smaller wins, in turn, we are likely to feel more motivated and reach our bigger goals, sooner.