We’re all running on a treadmill that never seems to stop. You wake up, check your pings, drink coffee like it’s fuel for a rocket ship, and dive headfirst into a day of "productivity." But honestly? Most of that productivity feels hollow without the payoff. That’s where the concept of a few moments of cheers comes in. It’s not about some massive, life-altering achievement like winning the lottery or getting a promotion that doubles your salary. It’s about those tiny, lightning-strike instances where your brain finally lets go of the stress and just... celebrates.
These beats of joy are the psychological glue holding us together.
I was reading some research from the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley recently, and they talk a lot about "micro-joys." It’s the same vibe. When we experience these bursts, our brains dump dopamine and oxytocin into our systems. It’s a chemical high that acts as a buffer against the cortisol that usually runs our lives. If you think about it, your best memories aren't usually the long, grueling hours of work; they're the split-second cheers when a project finally clicked or a friend delivered a perfect punchline.
The Science of Why We Need A Few Moments of Cheers
Why do we crave these spikes? Evolution, mostly.
Back when we were roaming the savannas, survival was stressful. You needed a reward system to keep you going after a successful hunt or finding a safe place to sleep. Today, our "hunts" are finishing a spreadsheet or finally fixing that leaky faucet in the bathroom. The scale changed, but the biology didn't.
When you get a few moments of cheers, your prefrontal cortex—the logical part of your brain—takes a backseat. The amygdala and the nucleus accumbens take over. It’s a physical release. You might find yourself shouting "Yes!" or doing a weird little fist pump in your kitchen. It feels slightly ridiculous if anyone is watching, but it’s actually a vital reset for your nervous system.
Chronic stress makes your brain's "joy receptors" less sensitive. It's called anhedonia. If you don't intentionally look for or create these moments, you start to feel numb. You're just existing. You aren't living.
Breaking the "Wait for the Big Win" Myth
We’ve been conditioned to think that only the big stuff counts.
Graduate college. Get married. Buy the house.
But those things happen maybe five or ten times in a lifetime. If you only cheer for the "Big Wins," you’re spending 99% of your life in a state of neutral waiting. That’s a miserable way to live. People who are actually happy—the ones who seem to have that weird, unshakeable glow—are the ones who find a few moments of cheers in the mundane.
They cheer when they hit every green light on the way to work. They celebrate finding a five-dollar bill in an old coat. They make a big deal out of a perfect cup of coffee. It’s not "toxic positivity." It’s a survival strategy. It's recognizing that the world is often heavy, and these moments are the only things that lighten the load.
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Real Examples: Where the Cheers Actually Happen
Take the 2016 Chicago Cubs winning the World Series. Obviously, that was a massive moment of cheers for millions. But look closer at the footage of the fans. They weren't just cheering at the final out. They were cheering for every strike, every catch, every small movement toward the goal. The "event" was the win, but the experience was a thousand tiny cheers leading up to it.
Or look at the "Mars Rover" landing teams at NASA. When that robot touches down, you see grown adults—literal rocket scientists—jumping up and down and screaming. They’ve worked for years on a single project. Those a few moments of cheers are the emotional payoff for a decade of grueling, quiet labor.
But you don't need a space program to feel this.
- The silence after you finally get a crying toddler to sleep.
- The "thwack" of a golf ball when you actually hit it straight for once.
- Getting a "thank you" email from a client who is usually a nightmare.
- That first bite of a meal you spent three hours cooking.
These are the real-deal moments. They are fleeting. If you blink, you’ll miss them. But if you lean into them, they change the entire chemistry of your day.
Why We Fight Against Joy
It’s weirdly hard for some people to let themselves cheer. We have this internal critic—some call it the "imposter" or the "judge"—that tells us it’s silly to be happy over small things. "It's just a cup of coffee," the voice says. "Don't be dramatic."
Social media makes this worse.
We see everyone else's highlight reels and think our small wins don't measure up. If you didn't post it, did it even happen? If it doesn't get 100 likes, was it worth cheering for? This is a trap. The most authentic a few moments of cheers are often the ones nobody else sees. They are private victories.
The psychological concept of "savoring" is the antidote here. Dr. Fred Bryant, a social psychologist, defines savoring as the capacity to attend to, appreciate, and enhance the positive experiences in our lives. It’s an active process. You have to decide to cheer. You have to acknowledge the moment while it’s happening.
The Power of Collective Cheering
There is something visceral about cheering with other people.
Think about a concert. When the band starts the first few notes of that one song everyone knows, the energy in the room shifts instantly. It’s a collective effervescence—a term coined by sociologist Émile Durkheim. It describes the sense of unity and shared passion when a group comes together for a common purpose or celebration.
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In those a few moments of cheers, the barriers between people dissolve. You don't care about the politics or the background of the person standing next to you. You’re both just happy. We need more of that. Our society is so polarized and siloed that these shared bursts of joy are some of the few remaining bridges we have left.
Practical Ways to Cultivate More Cheers
You can't force joy, but you can certainly leave the door open for it. It's about changing your "noticing" settings. Most of us have our filters set to "What's wrong?" or "What's next?" If you shift that filter just a few degrees toward "What's going well right now?" the world looks completely different.
Stop the "Yes, but" habit. When something good happens, we often immediately disqualify it. "I finished the report, but it took too long." "I lost two pounds, but I still have twenty to go." Stop. Just cheer for the report. Just cheer for the two pounds. Give yourself five seconds of pure, unadulterated "Heck yes" before you let the "buts" back in.
Physicalize the feeling. Your body and mind are a feedback loop. If you’re feeling "meh," try physically acting out a cheer. Stand up. Stretch. Clench your fists. It sounds like some cheesy self-help advice, but it actually triggers a physiological response. It’s hard to feel completely miserable when your body is in a "winning" posture.
Create "Cheers" triggers. Designate specific things that earn an automatic celebration. Maybe it’s finishing your morning workout. Maybe it’s clearing your inbox to zero on a Friday. When those things happen, don't just move to the next task. Take a few moments of cheers to acknowledge that you did the thing.
The Nuance: When Cheering Feels Impossible
Let’s be real. Sometimes life is garbage.
If you’re going through a loss, a health crisis, or deep burnout, being told to "find moments to cheer" can feel insulting. And honestly? That's valid. You shouldn't force a smile when your world is falling apart.
However, even in the darkest times, these moments aren't about pretending things are perfect. They are about finding a "foxhole" of relief. In Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, he talks about how prisoners in concentration camps would find tiny moments of beauty—a sunset, a piece of bread—to keep their spirits from breaking entirely.
If they could find a reason to hold onto a shred of light in those conditions, we can find it in our daily struggles. It’s not about ignoring the pain; it’s about proving to yourself that the pain doesn't own 100% of you.
What Most People Get Wrong
People think cheers are the result of a good life.
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They’ve got it backward. A few moments of cheers are the building blocks of a good life. You don't wait for the happiness to arrive so you can cheer. You cheer so that you can cultivate the habit of happiness.
It’s a skill. Like playing guitar or coding in Python. You get better at it the more you do it.
I’ve seen people who have every "advantage" in the world—money, fame, health—who are miserable because they’ve forgotten how to cheer. And I’ve seen people with very little who are incredibly resilient because they treat every small victory like a grand celebration.
Actionable Steps for Today
If you want to actually change how you experience your day, don't just read this and move on.
First, identify one "micro-win" you've had in the last 24 hours. Something small. Maybe you finally remembered to call your mom, or you didn't snap at that annoying coworker.
Now, give yourself a literal three-second celebration for it. No "buts." No "I should have done more." Just a internal (or external) "Nice job."
Second, look for someone else's win today. When you see someone else having a few moments of cheers, join them. If a colleague mentions they finally finished a tough task, don't just nod. Say, "That’s awesome, I know you’ve been grinding on that."
Cheering is contagious.
By the time you finish your day, try to have accumulated at least three of these moments. They won't solve your mortgage or fix global warming. But they will make the next 24 hours feel a whole lot more worth it.
The world is loud, messy, and often frustrating. But it’s also full of these tiny, glowing opportunities to celebrate. Don't let the noise drown out the cheers. You've earned them, even the small ones. Especially the small ones.
Next Steps for Long-Term Joy
- Audit your environment: Are you surrounded by people who "dampen" your cheers? Start seeking out "radiators"—people who amplify your wins instead of minimizing them.
- The 30-Second Rule: Next time you feel a burst of pride or joy, stay in it for 30 seconds. Most people cut it off after five. Stretching the moment physically changes how your brain encodes the memory.
- Differentiate "Relief" from "Cheers": Relief is "Thank god that's over." A cheer is "I'm glad I did that." Try to shift your perspective from just surviving tasks to actually owning the accomplishment.