The Gift of Little Wins

Each day can have a little win..... photo credit: My husband

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of Little Wins

“Can’t clean up the whole room?  Clean the corner of it.  Can’t do all the dishes? Do a dish.

Can’t get in the shower? Wash your face.  Always look for the thing you can do, with the energy and focus you do have.  Little wins pave the way for bigger wins.”

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You wake up in the morning already feeling like the day is spent. 

Your motivation, your umph has come and went. 

So many tasks and chores and little things.

You need to get them done but your energy is at zero.

How do you tackle this murkish mire?

You pick one task even if it is small.

Put up a dish. Fold a shirt. Brush your teeth.  Sweep up some dirt. 

Look for the activities that you can do.  

Don’t give up, don’t keep trying. 

One percent is better than zero percent any given day.

On day one that activity may be a beaten path. 

The next day there might be a dirt road that is easier to pass.

As days go on, the road changes to gravel and finally when you keep going the road will be paved and easy to travel. 

Have you ever seen the meme of a frog holding the throat of a herron trying to eat him? Even when he was about to be lunch,,,, but.. he was not going to give up.  We all have days where we just can’t muster the strength to do much of anything.  But, are those days good for us where we do absolutely nothing?  Think about it, even when you are on vacation, you still have to do minimal activities for personal hygiene.  Like going to the restroom.  So with that thought in mind let us talk about little wins.  Did you know we are hardwired for some sort of structure?  Even if it is minimal. When we do not engage in even minimal activity our stress level automatically goes up.  Interesting, right? Some of you are probably thinking, “A routine! I have too much going on for even something small!  I just need a break!” My husband has a routine that is written in a program on his computer.  He is so structured that his morning routine is exactly 42 minutes.  He has a playlist on the computer to time his tasks.  He makes notes just about every day about what he accomplished and what he could do better.  I know, that is a lot.  If he misses a day he feels absolutely terrible.  His stress level immediately skyrockets by quite a lot.  Most of us don’t need that level of routine in our life.. but something small could lead to a life even bigger.  So if you are overwhelmed, start with something small.  A set time to eat, a set time to go to sleep.  Or even a set time to just contemplate a routine.  Predictability is much better than uncertainty, right?  Doing something adds a bit of expectedness which relieves a little stress in your mind and spirit.  Having said all of this, don’t be too hard on yourself if you try and fail many times.  The point is that you are trying.  I recently read a small little blog about successful people that have routines.  All of them had a key theme about them.  Almost all of them had some sort of breakfast, even if it was small.  All of them had set meal times and they all had some sort of schedule.  Yes, there will be days that you can only do a little but don’t quit!  I will leave you all with this quote by John Maxwell, “You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily.  The secret to your success is found in your daily routine.”.  

Afterthought….  Having health struggles in the last few months has really brought this into focus in my life.  The little steps really do matter.  Those steps become wider, longer, a greater stride and they go farther over time.