Three Things You Need To Start Winning In Life.
But first, you have to win each day.
“This is not the end, this is not even the beginning of the end, this is just perhaps the end of the beginning.” ― Winston S. Churchill
What is your big day?
The day I graduated from university was my day.
The day I got admission to start my master’s program was my day.
The day my article got curated on Medium was my day.
The day I get to perform my routines to get the best result for myself was my day.
The day I started writing without looking back was my day.
The day I published this article is my day.
And still looking forward to my big day.
One of my lecturers gave her inaugural lecture a few weeks back. And the hall was filled to the brim with students, lecturers, and professors to celebrate with her.
Couldn’t help but wonder what that particular day meant to her. The truth is, that day was all about her and it was her big day.
Every day is always a new day for us to push further in getting closer to our big day.
Our day is the compounded result of our effort. Which later becomes the big day everyone will celebrate with us.
Without putting effort, you might never get to your big day.
Constantly winning is the best boost you can get towards getting to your big day.
What is it you want to achieve?
Are you showing up to work on it every day? If yes, you are closer to your big day than you think. Just be consistent with it.
Looking back on my lecturer that did her inaugural lecture. I couldn’t help but wonder how are tiny days had been added and compounded to make this a very big day for her. Look;
The day she finished her Bsc was her day.
The day she finished her MSc was her day.
The day she finished her Ph.D. was her day.
The day she started lecturing was her day.
The day she turned professor was her day.
The day she gave her grand inaugural lecture was her big day.
And tomorrow will be a bigger day.
Notice how it all started. It started by celebrating the small wins before getting to the larger wins.
“if you don’t regularly appreciate the small wins, you will never appreciate the big wins.“
Whatever your goals are, “celebrate” all the little wins towards them. And you’ll see that over time, they add up and will boost your motivation in getting towards your big day.
You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win. Zig Ziglar
Are you a writer and planning to write a book. Well:
The day you start Writing is your day.
The day you start publishing some of your writings is your day.
The day you start publishing some of your book excerpt on medium or anywhere else is your day.
The day your article gets curated on Medium is your day.
The day you get to publish your book is your big day.
And there are still bigger days ahead.
Whatever it is that you do or work towards. You have to realize that your journey to success will come in a series of wins and fails.
Wins, however small, help you keep going through hard times.
In the article the power of small wins by Harvard Business Review. Research shows that by supporting progress in meaningful work, managers improve employees. Inner work lives and the organization’s performance. Celebrating the small wins changes everything.
The truth is we can’t run faster than life. Life is in circles and so it turns. The only question is will you be ready when it’s your turn to take the mantle.
Here is what you need
Discipline
Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment. Jim Rohn
If you want to get to your big day, you have to be willing to work harder than anyone else.
Discipline is made up of the basic tools we use to cope with life’s problems and challenges. Because “without discipline, we can solve nothing.”
In as much as it is difficult to do. You need to put on the disciplined spirit if you want to get to your big day because every day is always your day. How you choose to spend the day is what is up to you.
Discipline is nothing less than perseverance.
Discipline takes you far if you can put it on for your journey. Because when times are tough. You can always refer back to the wins you noted, and remember why you did it in the first place.
It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action. And discipline that enabled us to follow through. Zig Ziglar.
Times might come when you don’t feel like working anymore or where you want to quit. Always remember that discipline is what needs to be done even when you don’t want to do it.
Is it gonna be easy? No. Well, no one ever said winning is easy. That’s why you need to put on the disciplined spirit in making sure you get to your big day.
What sets the most successful in their field apart is their willingness to tolerate the mundanity that comes with years of habit building, repetition, and following through with their routine says Aytekin Tank.
Mindset
“The payoffs of a “small-win” mindset are clear: you tend to be less disappointed, and more motivated. You stay focused on the present. You don’t overreach by taking shortcuts and trying to do everything at once.” — Daniel Coyle
Our mindset says everything about us.
Growth starts with our mindset.
In the journey to getting to your big day, mindset plays an important role. You need to have a growth mindset and see problems, task and challenges as a project that needs to be solved. Something that needs to be learned from and not something to run away from.
On the journey towards your big day, Never quit on “failure”. Learn from it. Remember your small wins. Celebrate them. Collect them. Refer to them frequently. Remember your ultimate goal. Small wins lead to big wins.
Don’t let perfectionism hold you back. Perfectionism is just a form of fear telling you that you aren’t enough. Rather strive for continuous improvement.
As Mark Twain once said continuous improvement is better than delayed gratification.
What leads to continuous improvement? Growth mindset.
What differentiates the extraordinary from the ordinary is the mindset. Nothing is given to you. Everything is earned. You have to have that mindset that you have to work every single day. Learn every single day. Says Saquon Barkley
Adopt a growth mindset and see things change for you as you journey to your big day.
Purpose
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful. To be honourable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
What is your purpose?
It is hard to know if you are moving on the right path if you don’t know your purpose.
Purpose simplify things in your life.
If you know your purpose, you can prioritize properly. And if you can prioritize properly, you will be productive.
As Gary Keller puts it in his book The One Thing that the straight part to extraordinary result is purpose, priority, and productivity.
When our daily actions fulfill a bigger purpose, the most powerful and enduring happiness can happen.
When you have a definite purpose for your life, clarity comes faster. Which leads to more conviction in your directions and to faster decisions.
Always remember this at every point;
Live with purpose and you know where you want to go. Live by priority and you will know what to do to get there for purpose without priority is powerless says Garry Keller.
When your life is on purpose living by priority takes precedence.
So I ask,
Why do you keep doing what you do?
What is your big day?
What are you doing to get there?
If you are making a small incremental effort in getting there. Best believe you are closer to your big day than you think. After all, life is mostly fulfilled by Small Wins that if added up usually lead to Big Wins.
