You have no idea how often I've stopped myself from celebrating a victory because I thought the moment for celebration had passed. 

I know I'm not alone when I say I've treated my victories like one-night stands. 

Raise your hand if you don’t want to get attached or feel stuck in the past and excited by something that only happened once and didn't t work out in the long run.

The truth is that treating our victories like one-night stands diminishes our achievements.  We’re telling ourselves that what we did was unimportant and insignificant simply because it didn't lead to bigger things… and that's not true.

You’re allowed to celebrate your victories more than once.

Treat yourself to a second victory dinner, go out on the town with friends--again, and live it up. Your achievements are not a one-night stand only to be experienced once.  Celebrating something you have earned and worked hard for is not just about the achievement but about who you had to become to do it.

This will motivate you to continue working towards the next goal and achievement! 

Don’t be dismissive of even the smallest victories 

If you’ve ever experienced a victory, booked a great gig, or been nominated for a prestigious award, you know how awesome it feels to get a sign that you’re on the right track. I remember being nominated for my first Canadian Screen Award and thinking: “I can’t believe I did that! That was so cool! The nomination is the win.”

But when one doesn’t win it hit, it becomes very clear that the world is full of people who have done much more impressive things than being nominated or getting a gig (even a good one). We start to think of ourselves as failures instead of winners in our own little ways.

I wish I could crawl through this screen and give you a big hug, look into your eyes and tell you not to dismiss your achievements or those small things that made you proud of yourself. They were important achievements worthy of celebration then and now! Don't let yourself get down just because your life isn't perfect (or even close). Go back and celebrate the little victories you’ve had along the way.  

Celebrate what you have done, not what you haven’t.

Think of celebrating the small victories in life as practice for celebrating the bigger achievements when they come—and they will come. 

We all have victories, big and small, and we need to recognize them more often and definitely more than once. If you don’t celebrate your accomplishments as much as you learn from your failures, you will miss out on the joy of life.