Don't Forget to Celebrate Your Success

Take a moment, right now, and think back to a recent accomplishment that you’re proud of. Did you celebrate that accomplishment, or did you just move on to your next task?

In the legal profession, as law students and lawyers, we are quick to ruminate on our shortcomings or failures. However, we often don’t truly take the time to celebrate our accomplishments. Big or small, our achievements matter, and the more we gloss over them, the less fulfilled we become both personally and professionally. It seems like simple advice, but being able to celebrate yourself and your achievements is integral to wellness, particularly in a profession as demanding as ours

We have compiled the following tips to help you celebrate your successes:

1. Share your good news with friends and family

Don’t be afraid to share your achievements with those closest to you. A large fear that many people have is coming off as if they’re “bragging,” but there is a fine line between bragging and sharing good news. If you got promoted at work, celebrate with your family and friends! If you closed a major deal or litigation matter that you’ve been working on for a really long time, enjoy that feeling!

Don’t be afraid to share your life and your happiness with your support network. Your family and friends will be thrilled for you just like you’re thrilled for their achievements.

2. Do something that you love but haven’t had time for

A “me day” isn’t always a possibility in the legal world, where things move fast and you usually can’t take a whole day off. That doesn’t mean that you can’t take an hour or two to do something you’ve been putting off because you didn’t have the time.

Take a beach walk, hit the gym, get your nails done, go to a movie, find what you’ve been putting off and do it! If we don’t make the time for the things we love, we’ll never have the time because life moves quickly and has a tendency to pass us by. Take a beat, relax, and enjoy your success.

3. Take a moment to just reflect on each accomplishment

Big or small, look back on the last achievement you had, and take a moment to reflect on it. How did it happen? What did you do to get there? A moment of reflection allows you to take the time to truly appreciate how hard you worked to accomplish whatever it was that you were able to accomplish. It also helps you identify successful actions and create a process for future achievements and successful habits.

4. Don’t put pressure on yourself

It’s natural to put pressure on yourself to do better or do more. However, that can lead to increased stresses in your life as well as a reduction in sleep quality and overall happiness. Don’t move on from one achievement to the next while putting pressure on yourself to do more than you can handle. Take the time to be happy about something you did, without moving on to the next thing immediately. Don’t let life pass you by, so find happiness in your achievements and reward yourself for a job well done.