What’s One Small Thing You’re Proud of This Week?

As the workweek is winding down, it’s easy to just put it all behind you and dive into the weekend. But before you disconnect from the job, I want to invite you to do something powerful: pause and celebrate the small accomplishments of the week.

In our busy lives, especially when we’re focused on big goals, it’s incredibly easy to overlook the small accomplishments of the week. We check things off our to-do list and immediately move to the next challenge, often without giving ourselves credit for what we’ve done.

But do these things you did during the last week matter? YES, they do!

What if you were to pause for a moment to celebrate your small accomplishments for the week? Taking a pause to recognize accomplishments, even small ones, ends up tapping directly into dopamine that is delivered to your body’s reward system.

Creating space to pause and acknowledge even small accomplishments does two crucial things:

1) Reinforces the Behavior: The positive feedback makes you more likely to repeat the actions that led to the win.

2) Builds Momentum: Each small dopamine release creates a positive feedback loop. One small win makes you feel good, motivating you to tackle another, and another… and so on.

So, recognizing these moments isn’t about bragging; it’s about actively training your brain to stay motivated, build confidence, and focus on progress, creating an upward spiral of well-being and productivity. It’s a vital part of building a positive mindset and preventing burnout.

Make it a weekly routine!

This week, my small accomplishment was finally dedicating time to learn video recording and editing techniques. It wasn’t urgent, but someone asked me to put together a video for a proposal, and carving out that time felt like a little personal victory.

Now it’s your turn!

What’s one thing, big or small, that you’re proud of accomplishing, learning, or even just doing this week?

It could be you remembered to eat or drink enough water when swimming through the endless day-to-day tasks. (Seriously, for me – that one counts!)

Share your win in the comments below! Let’s close out the week on recognizing even small accomplishments.

Have a wonderful, restful, and celebratory weekend!

For more reading check out this article from HBR: https://hbr.org/2011/05/the-power-of-small-wins