Set Goals You Can Actually Celebrate

When the sales team at Meridian Analytics faced falling numbers, they were told to “boost revenue”—a goal so broad it felt impossible. Every late night, every pitched call seemed to feed an endless pit of “not enough.” Then their director introduced “micro-targets”: each rep would aim for “one additional email follow-up today” and “three people added to the demo pipeline.” At first, these wins seemed trivial—who gets excited about three emails? But every afternoon, the entire team celebrated when someone hit their mini-targets. Those tiny celebrations released dopamine in their brains, energising them for the next day. Within a month, the pipeline had increased by 15%, and overall sales rose by 10%. They learned that the Monitor—the brain’s goal-tracking mechanism—runs on momentum and rewards, not distant finish lines. By shifting from a vague target to concrete, positive, small-scale wins, the team stayed motivated through obstacles and setbacks. Performance anxiety dropped, collaboration rose, and each rep discovered the power of designing goals that felt both certain and possible. Today, Meridian Analytics credits its growth to the simple practice of “celebrating the small stuff.”

Turn your lofty ambitions into a series of quick wins: pick one meaningful goal, list mini-targets you can finish within days, and rephrase each as a positive achievement. Celebrate each tiny victory—no matter how small—to ignite your Monitor’s reward system and fuel steady progress. Try defining three mini-goals tonight.