Celebrating a Small Win (10 Articles in Respected Pubs of Medium) in a Diva-esque Fashion!
To Lock in That Feeling of a High, in my Subconscious
#1-My Milestone Article in a Respected Pub of Medium
This is my 10th article on Medium.
This is not an ordinary article.
It is maah milestone moment write-up.
All articles in publications that I love.
Let me tell you why this article can egg you on to break those big goals into bite-sized achievable chunks.
To help you lock in that crucial feeling of progress, in your subconscious mind.
According to neuroscience, every positive outcome that is celebrated is remembered by the mind.
Replicating that feat becomes that much easier.
Though I’m not labelling this as a feat by any standards.
But I’m always high on celebrating the small wins.
I’m a great believer in the fact that:
Building momentum is what truly matters.
Compounding momentum is a force to be reckoned with in this Universe.
It is a celebratory moment for me today.
I had decided that:
‘When I complete 10 articles in respected publications of Medium, I’ll treat myself to the plate of pancakes at the Third Wave Coffee Cafe.’
I’m sitting here on Saturday during brunch time, typing my 1Oth article and simultaneously licking and devouring the whipped cream layer, with hazelnut syrup off the top of the pancakes and the fruits.
#2- The pancake not just tastes divine. It feels like heaven too, in my headspace!
It’s melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
“Not just plain delicious.
It has the gentle smell of victory hovering about it.
I can smell it in my inner mind.
It is intertwined with a sense of pride on having reached my milestone in the time I told myself I would.
It is locking in my mind, feelings of accomplishment. “
Feelings of steadily moving towards my goal.
With respect to my writing goals on Medium. In pubs I enjoy the content that is being put out by other writers, as well.
Oh yeah, I asked to be served hazelnut syrup instead of the regular maple syrup. That is the hazelnut syrup that you see in the picture.
“Life is all about celebrating those small wins along the wave of that huge milestone.
If you are not having fun along the way, why are you doing it in the first place my dear friend.”
#3- Why Should We Break Those Big Goals Into Chunks and Celebrate Each Mini—Milestone!
That brings me to the point I’m trying to bring home.
The feeling of having written 10 write-ups from the depth of my soul, carefully edited each comma, each word, after having bounced several ideas between my conscious and subconscious brain; whilst tossing away umpteen seedlings of ideas, have all diligently gone into each of these write-ups.
I only started writing on Medium 3 odd months ago. With a 20-day gap in the middle.
Though my very first article in print came out way back in 1999.
The magazine was the Indian Airlines magazine, ‘Swagath.’ Means ‘Welcome’ in Hindi.
The next one followed close on its heels in ‘Inside Outside,’ the only magazine worth its salt in the realm of design and interiors in India, back then (1999). I was all of 24 then. It did give me a flutter to see my byline in print.
I’ve written a whole bunch of stuff since then, but only recently decided to make a dent with my writing on Medium.
Oh yes, my very catchy and evocative poetry has been published in reputed literary online journals in India.
Also some creative non-fiction.
And I write on Twitter and LinkedIn.
But this hits differently.
This is a long form with a streak of continuity woven in.
Continuity and consistency are the name of the game.
#4- I’m Trying to Create a Body of Work on Medium
For this winning streak on Medium with 10 articles:
There have been weeks on end when I’ve done my morning ritual at home:
- waking up and chewing a bunch of raw kadhi patta (curry leaves),
- followed by a 20-minute gap;
- making my bed and breezing through my list of goals for the day that I jotted down the night before;
- crushing and grinding between my morals, a handful of soaked and peeled crunchy mega almonds (fat first, trying to get my nutrition right, right y’all ;)
- followed by a twenty-minute gap and a cup of tea thereafter;
- brushing, bathing, having a nutritious brekkie- the usual drill and
- finally dashing off to a coffee joint just to write.
Not because I have to.
But because it eggs me on to keep turning the pages of my life, one after the next, every single day at a time.
I can’t stress enough about the impact of a conducive environment in helping you stick with your habits.
James Clear says about the impact of the environment in achieving your goals:
Whenever possible, design an environment that makes good decisions for you. For example, buying smaller plates can help you lose weight by deciding portion size for you.
— James Clear
Nothing as energising as the stimulating aroma of coffee beans brewing in the atmosphere of the coffee joint, with some new and familiar faces focused towards their tasks on their laptops.
The environment that is oozing with a high degree of productivity, unlike the chores that beckon at home, gets me in the flow and groove of writing. It is magical.
After 10 articles, I wanted to document the mini goal by anchoring the feelings of the high, of having accomplished the goal that I’d set for myself.
To write 10–11 articles in the first three months of having begun writing on this platform. There was a 20 day gap in the middle. Something personal that made it impossible for me to look at my screen.
#5-Long -term momentum is built in an easy manner without any sort of pressure except the one that the brain can sustain
I like to go easy while building momentum.
I don’t believe in being very aggressive at the start.
The neuronal pathway will register a sense of fatigue.
Indeed, the pathway formed between the synapses that are fired together, will register a sense of fatigue if I’m too aggressive at the start.
A habit is best started tiny.
Consistency at the start is more important than intensity.
Small is mighty, especially at the start.
The likelihood of sticking to the habit goes up by tenfold.
The brain has neuroplasticity. It may seem like a lot of jargon.
In a layperson’s terms, synaptic nerves that fire together, wire together.
Very simply the more consistently you perform an activity, the more your brain adapts to it.
At the start of any new activity, you should focus more on the elements of
- consistency
- and sticking to a cadence
and not so much on the intensity of the activity.
If there is momentum and the activity is enjoyable, the brain will push you forward.
Today being a weekend, although I’m enjoying this smorgasbord of pancakes, fruits, whipped cream, and hazelnut syrup, I’m also baring my heart out to you guys.
And it does not feel like a chore to write.
On the contrary, I’m in a state of flow.
#6 — The heart and the head should not be used together whilst writing
This write-up shall later be ruthlessly scrutinised, sliced, and diced under the scissors.
The scissors of the mind.
Today it’s all heart. Naturally, it was the first brain dump.
The heart and head should not be intermingled at one time, especially whilst writing.
Let the heart ventilate and then let me breathe easy around this piece for a few days.
After that, the head shall use its discretionary scissors and mutilate the fluff out.
Separate the chaff from the grain.
#7- The real perks of writing on medium. Enjoying the connections I’m making on Medium with like-minded people
And, and I’m enjoying the connections I’m forging on Medium.
With people who are resonating with my writing. Those are the real perks.
And how I’m keeping myself accountable.
It is so fun.
I’m that little goals woman, get it y’all.
The ‘small-wins-build’ person
I like to keep the pressure off the nerves.
So that the momentum builds and I enjoy whilst building it.
I’m enjoying the music at the Third Wave Coffee Café now, and it is gratifying to have 10 articles under my belt, in respected pubs of Medium.
I’ll get there one day. For now, let me breathe easy.
Today I want to hang loose and revel in what I’ve accomplished.
Easy does it, Watson!
