By: Mark Spijker, Owner of Buro Einstein
If there is anything that I have learned in the past year it is appreciating the little things I always took for granted. A beer in my local bar, a good conversation at the coffee machine with a colleague, a weekend away with friends or even the freedom to cycle home from a meeting after 10 o’clock at night. Things I have always taken for granted. The funny thing about these occasions, however, is that you only start to appreciate them when they are no longer certain. The past year has, in that aspect, certainly been a real eye opener in many ways and a strong reminder to appreciate small moments of happiness more.
This is also true for entrepreneurs. Every day we achieve small successes that we take for granted when we should not. Because of everything that happened over the last year, I have noticed that I do not realise this enough. An appointment that went well, bringing in a new customer or just having a really cool meetup with INNOVATE. We should celebrate these things! Success has become the norm for many entrepreneurs, and although there is nothing wrong with showing ambition and moving on to the next big milestone, celebrating success should be included in the process as a norm. More often than not this is not the case.
Even with greater successes, we often just move on quickly and continue to achieve results, but we do not pay enough attention to what we and the people we work with are all accomplishing. And that really is a shame because by celebrating successes you lay the foundation for even more successes. Achieving a goal and celebrating it is addictive.
If you look at this process in a scientific way, it actually all makes sense. Every time you celebrate a success, endorphins are released which makes you feel just a little happier. This feeling is addictive and will probably trigger you to achieve success the next time. In this way, celebrating successes is conducive to the performance of your organisation. In addition, celebrating success is also a good way to ensure more solidarity within your team. By celebrating a success that you have achieved together, you will grow closer to each other and your team members will probably be willing to go the extra mile for each other in the future. All this will only improve the atmosphere within your team. More parties, more success and a better atmosphere… who would not want that?
The conclusion? Think about the successes you achieve, really try to reserve a moment for that and do not hesitate to do something crazy to celebrate those successes. It is not a given that you achieve success, although you will probably only find out if there is not much more to celebrate. Celebrating successes does not only increase your performance, but it simply makes your (team’s) day a lot more fun. In any case, I have found myself a new good intention.
And now? I am about to start a new tradition: toasting to a week with many small successes. Cheers!
