Celebrate Your Accomplishments — Why It’s Important and How To Do It

Celebrate Your Accomplishments — Why It’s Important and How To Do It - Catherine Baskin

When was the last time you took a moment to celebrate your accomplishments? When did you last give yourself a big pat on the back? 

If the answers to those questions weren’t in the very recent past, this blog is for you!

As a leader, you’re likely focused on learning from mistakes of the past and moving forward with your eyes on a bright future. While these mentalities certainly have a seat at the table, it’s important to remember the value in the present moment — especially when it comes to pausing and taking the time to celebrate your accomplishments. 

To many leaders, this mentality can seem prideful or haughty, but celebrating your accomplishments actually have long term benefits for you, those you lead, and the overall health of your business. 

Did you know that celebrating your accomplishments will help you avoid burnout? 

One of the most common issues leaders face is burnout. As a leader, you’re likely pouring so much of yourself into your success of getting results and leading well Celebrating your successes actually releases endorphins, improving both your physical and mental states. These endorphins, paired with the celebration of successes, also create a connection of positive feelings and emotions to your work. 

By acknowledging your success and doing something to celebrate, you’re creating a reminder to your brain that your work is exciting, making you more enthusiastic about the work ahead. 

Celebrating your successes will help you identify what’s working! 

When you take the time to acknowledge your wins, you’re simultaneously reinforcing what’s working. Ask yourself, “What led to this win?” and “What made this so successful?” 

There’s definitely time to identify what didn’t work, but now is the time to give yourself and the team you’re leading a big pat on the back for the important steps you’ve taken towards your overall business development goals. 

When you celebrate yourself, you’re more likely to celebrate others. 

We’ve all encountered leaders who do a lot of celebrating themselves and very little celebrating others. On the other hand, there are many leaders who fail to recognize their successes and the successes of those they are leading. These leaders likely have a bad case of tunnel vision and are too focused on the future that they are unable to pause and celebrate themselves and those around them. 

One key to being a good leader is the ability to celebrate your own successes and be on the lookout for members of your team who deserve the same celebration. Creating an environment of celebration is key to creating a good place to work. 

Struggling to identify your own successes? Ask yourself some of the following questions:

“What have my major ‘wins’ been this past week/month/year?”

“What is my greatest accomplishment to date?”

“What important steps have I taken toward my bigger goals?”

“How did I surprise myself this past year?”

Take some time to jot down your answers in a notepad or journal. Star your top three accomplishments. 

Once you’ve identified your biggest wins, ask yourself, “How do I want to celebrate my success?”

Many leaders find it difficult to walk the fine line of celebrating success in a healthy way. It’s actually a good thing to be concerned with how you’re coming off when celebrating your own successes, and thankfully, there are many ways to do this tastefully. 

Depending on the success, it could be a big celebration or a small celebration — the difference between a nice cup of coffee at your favorite cafe or a trip to Hawaii with your spouse. 

What you do to celebrate your success is also highly personal. The idea is what is meaningful to you on how you want to celebrate your success. It doesn’t matter how small or large the celebration is as log as you celebrate to commemorate your success on some level. 

Maybe you want to include your family, your partner, or your team at work. Again, this is all up to you, after all, it’s your success! 

You can also choose to use this celebration as a motivation towards your goal. If you choose to do so, write down your goal and how you’ll celebrate if you achieve it and put it somewhere you’ll see it on a daily basis. There’s nothing like a tropical vacation to get you motivated in your work! 


Whether big or small, your successes are worth celebrating! So how are you going to celebrate your accomplishments this spring? 

Looking for guidance when it comes to leading a team? Learn how Aspirations Coaching Servicescan help you be a leader with a lot to celebrate! 

Company Values — Why You Need Them and How to Define Them

Company Values — Why You Need Them and How to Define Them - Catherine Baskin

What are company values and why are they important? 

Along with a mission and vision statement, every company needs a defined set of values. These values are defined by you and others in your company and act as the foundation of who you are and how you operate. Your values should be your guide in the midst of big changes or challenges, helping you stay true to your authentic self and who you want to become. 

How to Define Your Company Values

Defining your company values is an important step in building your company or organization. It’s likely not going to be accomplished in an hour long meeting in a conference room. In fact, it will require a lot of thought, dedication, and introspection.

So, who do you involve in the process? 

Every company is different, and this will likely depend on the size and closeness of your team. Are you a four-person team, a growing team of 100, or somewhere in the middle? 

Smaller teams have the luxury of including everyone in the process, if they so choose, while larger groups should assemble a smaller team within the organization. This team should likely consist of leaders and department heads, especially any visionaries who have proven valuable in processes like these. These people should also be willing and able to represent the rest of the team who isn’t involved in the process. 

How do you define your company values? 

We recommend that you make a day (or two) out of this process! It’s often good to get out of the office and into a new, neutral environment. Consider taking your team to a fun location, whether it’s for a stay overnight at a nice resort or a different, more exciting workspace, like a coworking space, a restaurant or coffee shop with a private room. 

This will hopefully inspire new ideas and eliminate the distractions of the office. If you’re able to, mute your notifications and pause all other tasks. 

Now that you’ve got the perfect space for getting your creative juices flowing, start brainstorming together. 

It will help to start by asking a set of questions and jotting answers down on a large sheet of paper or whiteboard. Some questions might include: 

  • What sets us apart as a company? 
  • What do we want to be known for? 
  • What are some words we’ve been described as? 
  • Who do we want to be in 5-10 years? 
  • What do we do that we are proud of? 
  • How do we act in times of challenge? 
  • What do we love about our jobs? 

Remember, at this point in the process, there is no wrong answer! Just write down anything and everything that’s said. 

From there, take time to refine your brainstorming session. Here are some steps for narrowing down your list: 

  1. Get rid of similar words and phrases — for instance, if you’ve jotted down “commitment” and “dedication,” pull up the definitions for each word and determine which one better describes what you are trying to say. 
  2. Throw the values into different categories, depending on what you came up with. You may find you have several about customer support, some about company culture, and others about innovation and change. Write some overall categories on a separate area of the whiteboard or paper and place each word or phrase into a category. 
  3. Rank your brainstorming results. Within each category, rank your items based on how true they feel to who you are and who you want to be — whichever items end up at the top of your list are likely contenders for your final list of company values. 

Once you have your list, take time to make sure they are true to you. 

Ask yourself the following questions… 

  • Are we willing to let these values direct our company? 
  • Would we be able to make important HR decisions based on these values? 
  • Are these values applicable to every area of our company? 

And finally, ask yourself if these values will challenge you to make the right decisions in times of challenges or change. 

Your values shouldn’t just affirm your current behaviors and approaches, but should push you to be better, smarter, and more impactful in the future. 

Defining your company’s values is a big deal and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly, but follow these tips and you’ll be headed forward on the highway to success! 

Need some help defining your company’s values or mission and vision statements? Aspirations Coaching Services is here to help you become the leader you are meant to be!