{"id":34161,"date":"2021-04-30T22:33:42","date_gmt":"2021-05-01T02:33:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=34161"},"modified":"2021-05-08T22:49:35","modified_gmt":"2021-05-09T02:49:35","slug":"celebrating-successes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/celebrating-successes\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating Successes: Why It’s So Important"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How do you make a new Tiny Habit stick? What kind of Tiny Habit celebrations<\/a> are the most successful? What are the different types of celebrations?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A core part of developing a new Tiny Habit is celebration. Celebrating successes causes the release of dopamine that makes you experience pleasure and helps lock in the habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue on to learn more about how celebrating successes helps you develop new habits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Why Celebrating Successes Is So Important<\/strong> in Habit Formation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Consciously celebrating successes allows you to harness powerful brain networks to your new habit. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The brain network we\u2019re \u201chacking\u201d through Tiny Habits is the reward system. This system has evolved over millions of years to keep us alive, healthy, and safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whenever you feel good, your brain notes and reinforces the actions you performed to get there. This means that experiencing pleasure helps you to encode new behaviors. When you experience pleasure (or, more specifically, an outcome that yields a \u201creward prediction error,\u201d in that the outcome was better than you expected), your brain releases a shot of dopamine. This dopamine helps to lock in the habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Characteristics of a Great Celebration<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A great celebration is immediate and t<\/strong>iming is key.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also authentic<\/strong>. The celebration feels natural to you\u2014perhaps it\u2019s already something you do when you\u2019re feeling triumphant. It should easily tap into a genuine feeling of Shine (Fogg’s word for the feeling of “authentic pride”).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Types of Success Celebration<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Most celebrations fit into a few categories: physical movements, words, songs, sound effects, and visualizations<\/a><\/strong>. Some celebrations combine a few categories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, one Habiteer, Mike, invented the following celebration for the Tiny Habit of rolling out his yoga mat every day: He paced back and forth next to the yoga mat, singing<\/a> Eye of the Tiger <\/em>at the top of his voice and holding his arms triumphantly above his head in imaginary boxing gloves. (When a bemused postman passed by his window one day, Mike realized that this particular celebration worked better with the curtains drawn.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some suggestions for celebrations in each category. They come from examples throughout the book, as well as from an Appendix that offers 100 suggested celebrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Physical movements: Strike a pose or make a movement that makes you feel joyful and triumphant.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Do a happy dance (the floss dance, a few belly dance moves, a stylish spin).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Drum out a jaunty beat on a nearby surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Clench your biceps and kiss them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Thump your fist against your heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Give yourself a fist bump, blowing up both fists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Jazz hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Do an elaborate bow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Wave and blow kisses like a celebrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Words: Say a positive affirmation, either aloud or in your head. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

* \u201cNailed it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* \u201cGreat job!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* \u201cYes!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* \u201cI\u2019m great at forming new habits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Songs: Sing, hum, or whistle a snatch of a song that makes you happy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Celebration<\/em> \u2014 Madonna<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Eye of the Tiger <\/em>\u2014 Survivor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* You Sexy Thing (I Believe in Miracles) <\/em>\u2014 Hot Chocolate <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sound effects: Play these on your phone or imagine them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

* A crowd going crazy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* A round of applause<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* A fanfare<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visualizations: Be creative.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Imagine getting a hug from someone who cares about you<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Imagine your best friend smiling at you<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Imagine you have a tail and wag it happily like a dog<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Imagine you\u2019re surrounded by a pure white aura<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* Imagine fireworks exploding<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, context is important. You don\u2019t want to have an Eye of the Tiger<\/em> celebration for the habit of contributing an intelligent point in a work meeting. A repertoire of possible celebrations that you know will reliably generate Shine works best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding Your Best Celebration<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Success celebrations have personalities: Some are more introverted (a quiet head nod) while others are very extroverted (a silly pose or dance). You may be more drawn to subtle expressions or you may prefer very dramatic ones.<\/strong> Choose whatever gives you easiest access to Shine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone\u2014even the most modest or gruff among us\u2014has a celebration. If you\u2019re struggling to find yours, imagine the following three scenarios. What do you do after each?<\/p>\n\n\n\n