Podcast Summary
Podcast: This Can't Be That Hard
Host: Annemie Tonken
Episode: 341 - "Celebrating Your Wins"
Air Date: November 4, 2025
Episode Overview
In this episode, Annemie Tonken reflects on how her gratitude practice has meaningfully shifted over the past year, particularly as it relates to running a photography business. Through sharing her experience with burnout following a failed product launch, Annemie introduces the significance of consciously tracking and celebrating small wins. She details the evolution of a simple, systemized approach to recognizing progress, and offers actionable encouragement for listeners to do the same—especially during challenging times.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The Context: Burnout After a Failed Launch
- Annemie begins by sharing how a project launch in February, into which she'd invested significant time and money, fell far short of expectations ([01:15]).
- The disappointment escalated into full-on burnout, compounded by broader world events and a general sense of heaviness.
- She emphasizes, "That, combined with difficulty in your business, can be the cocktail of kind of disappointment that makes it easy to spiral into the ‘what’s the point, who even cares’ mentality." ([02:15])
2. The Weekly Accountability Meeting System
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She describes a structured weekly check-in meeting, rooted in the business book Traction by Gino Wickman, though she admits she didn’t enjoy the book itself ([03:23]):
- Each week, Annemie and her business partner Dana log business stats (email growth, podcast downloads, course sales) into Airtable and meet on Zoom.
- The meetings cover:
- Personal check-in and catch-up
- Review of stats and numbers
- Discussion of what’s going well & what needs attention
- Review of the previous week’s to-dos and setting of new goals
- Mutual accountability ([05:44])
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These meetings feel motivating when business is going well, but can feel demoralizing during tough seasons.
- Annemie observes, "I think that's probably why a lot of us avoid looking at stats or numbers... out of this fear that if you look too closely, you will prove the nagging suspicion that you might have in the back of your head that things aren't going great." ([07:16])
3. The Turning Point: Tracking Wins
- A conversation with an entrepreneur friend outside photography prompts Annemie to begin recording at least one "win" per week in their tracking document ([08:10]).
- She recalls initial skepticism: “I remember thinking, I may have even said, like, I don’t even have any wins to track right now.” ([08:54])
- Each week, both she and Dana are tasked with entering one win—business or life-related—no matter how small.
Impact of This Simple Change
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Tracking wins shifted her outlook quickly, revealing “plenty of wins to celebrate,” even when business data didn’t look great ([10:13]).
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Wins ranged from positive client messages, to checking off a nagging to-do, to personal boundaries set or decisions made.
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Annemie reflects, "What I found... is that tracking those moments made me feel more grounded, more capable. It reminded me that things were still moving, even if they weren't moving fast and loud." ([12:09])
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She underscores the science behind celebrating progress: recognizing small achievements increases motivation and creates a positive feedback loop, helping to reframe challenges productively ([13:11]).
4. Practical Strategies for Listeners
- Annemie encourages making win-tracking part of an existing structure, not just a once-a-year or November-only practice:
- “Reflecting on our wins and practicing gratitude shouldn’t be a November thing. It should show up, if not every day, at least every week in our lives. And the easiest way to do that is to make it part of something that you’re already doing.” ([15:34])
- Suggestions include adding it to planners, calendars, or photography business dashboards.
5. Implementing for Photographers—Upcoming Workshop
- She teases an upcoming live workshop for members of her Photographer’s Business Dashboard, aiming to help photographers set up their own weekly tracking systems ([17:20]).
- The workshop will cover both strategy and tech setup for a customized tracking solution.
- Recordings will be available for those who can’t attend live.
6. The Big Takeaway: Evidence-Based Gratitude
- Near the episode's end, Annemie synthesizes the episode’s purpose:
- “It’s not just about being thankful in some sort of vague, seasonal way. It’s really about seeing what worked and feeling gratitude for that… It’s a kind of gratitude. But it’s also a kind of evidence, right? Evidence-based gratitude that I showed up, that I built something and that I grew.” ([19:23])
- She encourages listeners to create their own tangible records of progress:
- “This work that we do is hard and it can feel lonely. And you deserve to see just how far you’ve come.” ([20:10])
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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On burnout after disappointment:
"It really was full on burnout. And to be honest, it wasn't just the business stuff either, right? The world felt heavy then, it feels heavy now, the news is bad again and again." (Annemie Tonken, [01:58]) -
On avoiding metrics when struggling:
"I think that's probably why a lot of us avoid looking at stats or numbers or, you know, money or anything like that. Out of this fear that if you look too closely, you will prove the nagging suspicion that you might have in the back of your head that things aren't going great." (Annemie Tonken, [07:16]) -
The power of tracking wins:
"The moment that I started looking for wins, I really started finding them." (Annemie Tonken, [11:30]) -
On celebrating what is working:
"Because when you start celebrating what is working, even in seasons that feel hard, you're more likely to keep going." (Annemie Tonken, [14:30]) -
On evidence-based gratitude:
"It's a kind of gratitude. But it's also a kind of evidence, right? Evidence-based gratitude that I showed up, that I built something and that I grew." (Annemie Tonken, [19:38])
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 00:00 – 01:58: Setting the context: November, gratitude, burnout after failed launch
- 03:23 – 07:16: Weekly accountability meetings: structure and challenges
- 08:10 – 12:09: The shift: starting to track weekly wins, and how it changed everything
- 13:11 – 14:30: The science and value of recognizing progress
- 15:34 – 17:20: Actionable advice: incorporating win-tracking into routines
- 17:20 – 18:45: Announcement of upcoming workshop for photographers
- 19:23 – 20:10: Summing up: gratitude as evidence, call to action for listeners
Final Thoughts
Annemie’s signature practical-yet-empathetic style shines as she reframes gratitude and progress-tracking for photographers and creative entrepreneurs. The episode offers both a heartfelt reflection and hands-on tactics for anyone facing discouragement—reminding listeners that celebrating small wins isn’t just motivational fluff, but an indispensable business practice.
Recommendation:
If you’re a photographer (or creative entrepreneur) feeling burned out, disconnected from progress, or bogged down in metrics, Annemie’s insights provide a manageable, uplifting way forward—starting with simply noticing, recording, and celebrating your wins.