The Big Deal about Small Wins ✨
It’s a rainy Saturday evening, you’re curled up on the sofa in your usual pose, idly scrolling through Instagram. A notification pops up on your screen, you’d rather ignore it but it’s distracting so you open it. It’s a mail about a certificate for a course you took some time ago, something about business writing. You stare at it for a while and then press the back button. “Who cares?”
I’ve enrolled in several courses this year, some out of interest, a few out of curiosity, and some so I could just look at the course module and laugh at the high-sounding words. The number of courses I’ve followed up on is a small percentage of the former. The number of courses I’ve finished is a different story entirely; and every single time I finished one, I’d stare at the little congratulatory text like it was a free ticket to Canada.
And then social media would happen. I’d open Twitter or LinkedIn and marvel at what my “mates” were doing. Then, all (or most of) the joy I felt earlier would evaporate.
If you’ve ever felt like that, like me, you shouldn’t. You should celebrate your wins, no matter how small they seem. The thing about small wins is that they’re the building blocks of bigger ones.
Take an expert in Analytics, for instance. They probably started with an Introduction to Excel course, or something even smaller. If they had disregarded that or treated it as insignificant, that whole possibility would have remained just that — a possibility. So, it’s imperative to look at small wins not as what they are, but as what they could be.
To help you with this, I’m going to share three tricks I discovered that help me stay upbeat about my “small” wins.
Document Your Wins
You could use a small book, sticky notes on your room door, or an Excel sheet. Write everything down, let absolutely nothing get past you. It’s easier to save a stack of cookies than a single piece; similarly, it’s easier to appreciate something when you’re looking at a bigger picture of it.
Celebrate Your Wins
You could celebrate by seeing a movie, buying yourself a gift, or even getting double-sausage instead of single-sausage shawarma. However you can, commemorate the moment. It can be a useful thing to draw upon when you’re feeling listless in the future.
Appreciate Your Wins
It is your win, your very own. You did this. Amen? “Comparison is the thief of joy” might be cliché, but it’s true. There’s a way you examine something in light of another that makes it pale. If you must compare at all, compare yourself with yourself; consider where you were and look at where you are now. Putting yourself up against someone whose path is different is unfair to you and an unreliable way to grow. Tracking your progress, however, is a good way to measure and appreciate how far you’ve come.
Author: Bolu(Tife) Sanwo
Editor: Emma Nwosisi
Want to contribute Workaroo? Sign up here.
