The human mind tends to see the world as a series of opposite extremes. There’s city and then there’s country. There’s fast and then there’s slow. There’s rich and then there’s poor. All the gray areas in between are then defined by these extremes.

Looking at the speed of road vehicles, for example, you could say that a low-powered scooter is very slow and a high-powered Italian supecar is very fast. The average daily commuter fits somewhere in between. You could say that a Toyota Yaris would be about a third of the way along on this spectrum, whereas a V6-powered Mustang would be a little closer to the “fast” end of the spectrum.

Following this same line of thinking, this is how we would typically define the difference between success and failure. We can be pretty hard on ourselves when something doesn’t go too well with our businesses. Maybe you missed out on a potentially lucrative contract. The anguish can be quite punishing. That said, we can sometimes forget to celebrate our successes. Where’s the reward to counter that punishment?

Without celebrating your successes, it may start to feel like you are working for nothing. By celebrating your successes, you can place greater value in your small victories and generally be more motivated to seek out greater success. It’s all about positive reinforcement. Reward yourself and you will want to seek out that reward again.

Don’t forget to share these successes with your employees and associates too, because it will help motivate them as well.