Small Victories

Large or small, a victory is still a win, and winning is a wonderful thing. It’s nearly impossible for a win not to bring a smile to your lips and reinforce some sort of positive behavior like dedication, willpower, or practice. Be it your first home run, handstand, or eating your salad in the breakroom without indulging in the communal Doritos inches in front of you, these are victories. Victories that took effort on your part; victories that lead to something bigger.

A lot of people overlook small victories or play them down. That’s really unfortunate because they aren’t giving themselves enough credit. For example, I quit smoking on January 1, 2015. Every single day that my head hit the pillow without my having a cigarette was a victory that made me smile. I didn’t say, “It’s only been three days so far – no big deal.” I said, “I haven’t smoked in three days – can you believe it!?” and then did a little jig. All those days of small victories have added up and now I am still cigarette-free in April – a major victory. No matter what happens, as long as I keep this up, I can’t ever say I am a failure or that I achieved nothing this year. That alone is worth its weight in gold.

There is no reason to downplay small victories, because they really do add up. Some people want everything immediately and go so hard so fast. This is how people get hurt or why they quit – impatience or failure. Change doesn’t happen overnight. It takes 64 days to create a habit so whatever you want to do, be it running, quitting smoking, writing a novel, or changing your diet, it has to be sustainable for at least 64 days. It’s not uncommon for a writer who hasn’t written in a while to suddenly declare they are going to write 750 words a day for a month. Once they fall a few days behind, they’re faced with needing to write thousands of words to catch up. It’s overwhelming, and so they give up.

Anything worth working toward will most likely happen incrementally. When I started yoga I never thought I’d be able to close the gap between my face and leg in a seated forward bend. A few months ago I touched my nose to my left knee for a second. Now, I can bring my cheek to my knee and let it rest there. Soon, I hope to bring my forehead to the floor beside my knee.

I probably wouldn’t even still be practicing yoga if I had forced my nose to my knee in the beginning because I’d be injured, or I would have been overwhelmed by the work ahead of me and how long it would take and I’d have quit. Here I’d sit, wishing I could bring my nose to my knee, having given up on another dream. Time is going to pass regardless…

It took me a very long time to get my bachelor’s degree. When I finally enrolled at Saint Joseph’s University and decided to wrap this up once and for all, I calculated that I’d obtain my degree at age 31. That seemed such a long ways away. Then I remembered that I was going to turn 31 anyway, so it may as well be with a degree. And seven days before my 32nd birthday I graduated. From start to finish, the goal took 13 years to achieve. Every enrollment, every course, was a small victory that contributed to something grand.

So relish in your small victories. Every unsmoked cigarette, every passed up potato chip, every baseball or yoga practice, and every writing session is a victory. Pat yourself on the back, do a little jig, and smile at your accomplishment, for you are VICTORIOUS.

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