We all enjoy those big wins. Maybe a big sports game won, your life changing business contract signed, you married the love of your life, you won that Gold Medal. With applauses from the crowds, standing ovations, celebrations with family and friends. Fame and glory coming your way.
But when was the last time you had that BIG BANG victory. Most people can count it on their fingertips for their whole life.
One step followed by the next one, and the next one, is what leads us to those big wins.
We tend to overlook those small wins on the way to the big one. Not realising that small wins happen more frequently and are the ones that keep that motivation going.
Here are some Sutras on how to use these small wins to score those big wins.
SUTRA-1 : Habits Lead To Big Goals
Losing 10 Kgs in 4 months is your goal. But daily control of diet is the habit that will get you there. Your goal is to build your arm muscles and six pack abs but daily gym habit is the one that will get you there. You have a goal to write a book but writing just 300 words per day is the habit that will get you there.
Hence, when you achieve these mini-goals on a daily basis – celebrate it. Give a yahoo the day you ate right, you went to the gym or you wrote those 300 words. Get your happiness on daily basis rather than only on that BIG BANG day.
SUTRA-2 : Eat The Elephant Bite By Bite
We at times setup a gigantic goal which may look unachievable? We are also frequently confronted by a daunting task which threatens to overwhelm us.
Social scientist Dr Kelly McGonigal has the theory of “One-At-A-Time”. As per this, the best way to deal with that is to break the task down into manageable pieces and line them up in a sequence. Then take them up one-at-a-time.
“It Is Like Eating An Elephant – One Bite At A Time, And You’re Not Allowed To Look Up To See How Much Is Left.”
“Each Bite” will help you inch closer to achieving your goal. And the time when you get to the finish line, you will have attained plenty of winning experiences. After all you ate up an elephant. Not a joke. Worth a loud shout.
SUTRA-3 : Give A Medal To Yourself
Each time you get that small win, you should reward yourself. A small or large win doesn’t matter. Give yourself a moment to celebrate. This could be eating at your favorite restaurant, watching your favorite TV show or a movie, or perhaps some ice cream or coffee. Give yourself a prize for each small victory. This encourages you to stay focused and continue to look forward to that win. After all, ice cream or coffee is at stake ! It is an approach for training yourself for long-term success and joy.
The Takeaway
Sometimes, we wrongly believe that the desired outcome is still so far away while, in reality, it can be right around the corner—something we would never know if we surrendered.
Therefore, if you want to stay motivated while working toward your goals, you must learn how to recognize the small wins so that you can celebrate them. That is a sure way to keep you motivated and not let you quit even when failures mount up.
This can mean the difference between FAILING SMALL and WINNING BIG.