WDYT 2/20: Do We Celebrate Enough?

When was the last time you truly stopped to celebrate, as an individual or as a team? We may have forgotten the essential nature of celebrations, especially in uncertain times. Today’s fast-paced, always-on, hyper-efficient culture full of threats often ignores the fact that celebrating is an integral part of how we live in community together. It is also how we recognize the ebb and flow of life. If we look throughout history and around the world, humans have always invested time and resources in celebration. Whether it was a festival to rejoice over a bountiful harvest, a jubilee to recognize the end of winter or a joyous commemoration of a significant milestone, we have always found it essential to stop and celebrate.

But as we get busier, it can feel like we might be wasting time that could be used to accomplish even more. It turns out that not only are celebrations fun, but they also serve a purpose. Celebrating success and victory (sometimes even losses or mistakes) can actually have an impact on your brain and is important for wellbeing. Celebrating can release endorphins in your brain and make you feel great. That, in turn, reinforces the work that you did to accomplish your success. Celebrations also help create closer bonds with the people who can help you succeed. People who celebrate together gain a better understanding of their importance in each other’s success. The mutual recognition of achievements encourages further success.

In addition to celebrating to increase the chances of further success, it is also good for us in other ways. We all need breaks to refresh and reenergize. Celebrating is an excellent way to relax, unwind, and focus on what is essential. And this might even help us to find solutions for “unsolvable” problems. Celebrations also surround us with individuals who are important to us – whether those people are family, friends, or colleagues. Simply spending time with those people helps us remember the things in life that truly matter. And this is never a bad thing. What do you think?

PS: You want to try it in your team? Here (PDF) is a simple 15 min team activity on celebrating success.