Learning to Celebrate Wins (Even the Small Ones)

When you work in a fast-paced support role, it’s easy to move from one task to the next without pausing to reflect on what you’ve achieved. Business Support professionals are often the ones holding everything together behind the scenes, yet their successes are rarely shouted about. You solve problems quietly, anticipate needs before they arise and make the impossible seem effortless, but because so much of your impact happens in the background, it can be easy to forget to celebrate it.

Taking time to acknowledge your achievements isn’t about ego or self-congratulation. It’s about recognising progress, building confidence and maintaining motivation. When you stop to reflect on what’s gone well, you remind yourself of the value you bring, and that’s something worth celebrating. Start by redefining what a “win” means to you. It doesn’t have to be something big like a promotion or a major project launch. It could be the moment you finally organised a chaotic diary, resolved a challenging situation with calm professionalism or supported your executive through a difficult week. These small wins are the foundations of success, both for you and for the people you support.

One simple habit that helps is keeping a “win list”. At the end of each week, jot down a few things that went well. They might be moments that made your day easier, achievements that made someone else’s day better or tasks you handled particularly well. Over time, you’ll build a record of quiet achievements that remind you how much progress you’ve made, especially on the days that feel overwhelming.

Documenting your wins also has a practical benefit. While the purpose isn’t always about moving forward in your career, having a record of what you’ve achieved can be invaluable when it comes to performance reviews, pay rises or promotion conversations. It’s easy to forget the details of what you’ve delivered over time, and this simple habit ensures you have tangible examples of the impact you make.

Celebrating wins also helps you create a more positive mindset at work. When you focus only on what’s left to do, it’s easy to feel you’re never doing enough. When you look back at what’s gone right, you train your brain to recognise success and resilience. This shift in perspective builds confidence, reduces burnout and helps you approach challenges with more balance.

If you manage others, lead by example. Celebrate their efforts, not just their outcomes. Recognition doesn’t always have to come in the form of awards or grand gestures; sometimes a sincere thank-you or acknowledgment in a team meeting goes further than you think. It reminds people that what they do matters.

At Lily Shippen we see this every day. Assistants who take the time to acknowledge their growth are often the ones who go on to achieve the most. They don’t wait for external validation; they build it from within. Take a moment to reflect today. What went well this week? What are you proud of? It might feel small, but it matters. The more you celebrate your wins, the more you’ll start to see just how much you’re achieving, every single day.