3 Ways to Celebrate Success

By: Lainey Nielsen & Jake Hreha

I don’t know about you, but I find it easy to breeze past my accomplishments while trying to juggle school, work, and life! It is important to take the time and recognize our achievements, whether big or small.

Learning How to Celebrate

Celebrating your success can help boost your self-confidence and motivate you to achieve more. It feels good in the moment to recognize your wins and it also can lead to more success in the future. Taking time to celebrate your own accomplishments doesn't come easy for everyone. We sometimes struggle to celebrate our own success and our own wins.

Learning how to celebrate success is a great way to help you find continued success. Whether you found intrinsic motivation or extrinsic motivation along the way to accomplishing your goal, it's important to celebrate achievements and take the time to pause and recognize your accomplishment.

Here are three ways you can celebrate your success.

Take Time for Yourself

After achieving a goal, find a way to celebrate that refuels you! Take part in something you enjoy and that will refresh you after the hard work you’ve done. Some examples include:

• Get dinner with friends or a loved one.
• Schedule a spa treatment.
• Order takeout and have a movie night.
• Go on a walk or jog outdoors.
• Visit a new coffee shop.
• Try a new hobby.

These celebrations help you maintain positive emotions about your success even if they are small wins. Whether you achieved an ultimate goal or just want to celebrate a small achievement it's important to take a step back to celebrate wins.

Practice Gratitude

Take time to think about the goal you achieved and the many things that had to take place in order for you to attain that goal!

A few ways you can do this include:

• Express gratitude to a friend.
• Share a nice dinner with those who helped you.
• Write a thank-you card to someone who helped you along this journey.
• Start a gratitude journal.
• Say, “thank you” out loud to friends, coworkers, and family.

Practicing gratitude not only motivates you, but it brings other people into the celebration that had a positive impact on you. Spend time with the people who spent their extra hours helping you cross the finish line of your goal. Celebrating wins is more fun when we include the people around us.

Reflect

Reflection allows you to look at the journey that led you to success. It lets you identify what went well, what could have been improved, and how you are best motivated.

Here are a few questions to help you reflect:

• What did I do well?
• What strengths did I use?
• What skills did I gain?
• What would I change for next time?
• Was there a challenge I faced?
• What did I enjoy most?
• What did I learn?

Celebrating Success in Your Next Achievement

Achievements are worth celebrating! The next time you accomplish a goal, receive an award, or reach success, challenge yourself to pause and celebrate. Take time for yourself, practice gratitude, and reflect on the experience. If you're ready to move on to conquering your next big achievement, visit our programs page and consider starting your new degree today.

Lainey Nielsen

Copywriting Assistant, IWU-National and Global

Lainey Nielsen is currently a Senior at IWU studying Strategic Communication and Business Administration. She is passionate about storytelling and building connections with others. Lainey enjoys being outdoors, exploring local coffee shops, and spending time with family and friends.

Jake Hreha

SEO Copywriter, IWU

Jake Hreha is a graduate of Ball State University, where he majored in advertising with a concentration in media presentation and design. He is passionate about design, and in his free time he enjoys cycling, traveling, and reading.