Daily Inspiration: “Make every single day a small win!”

“Make every single day a small win!” – Futurist Jim Carroll

(49 for the win!)

It’s easy to be impatient, particularly when you have big goals. That’s why it’s critical that you start each day with a few small steps, and then conclude each day with some small victories. And let’s face it – you need some wins when taking on a monumental task. Small steps help you to do that!

I have this lovely neighbor who had a pretty massive set of knee surgeries through the last year. Being a very focused, goal-oriented individual, it was obvious she was eager to get back to normal as quickly as possible. Yet. medical science and the rehabilitation process don’t work like that – and so her progress came through a steady series of small walks eventually graduating to longer voyages. Today, she walks to the gym and back.

A year ago, she could barely get down the stairs. Small steps. Big win. Celebrations of success call for cookies!

Observing small stories like this help you to understand the process of big transformation. In a disruptive world, organizations are busy trying to manage the pursuit of big goals – significant product reinvention, entering new markets, implementing new customer-oriented initiatives, implementing massive IT infrastructure, transforming skill sets and workforce capabilities, finding new methods of collaborating and organizing, or simply learning how to work faster and smarter! All of this takes a tremendous amount of effort, all of which can seem at times to be massively overwhelming.

That’s why achieving small steps on a regular basis can help to achieve the big win. As with everything, balancing your mind against the goals is critical to helping you achieve what you need to do. Consider these mindset moves:

• always remember that it is the accumulation of a lot of little things that make big things happen
• keep in mind that breaking things down into small steps will most definitely help you see the bigger picture
• small steps will help you avoid the feeling of being overwhelmed and helpless in the face of big change
• pace yourself – remember to keep in mind that it doesn’t matter how fast you go as long as you do not stop
• stop trying to do everything at once – break things down into manageable chunks
• remember that the simple process of trying to do small things helps you accomplish a big goal because you are prioritizing action over inaction
• while habits are often a barrier, they can be an ally – establish a routine of regular small steps that when taken together, add up to a giant leap
• moderate your expectations – learn to be content with what you achieve with your small steps and forget about your big goals for a time
• take the win – it’s important that you establish some small victories along the way to your eventual massive win – in order to keep your motivation on track
• don’t be discouraged by the pace of your progress with the small steps because, in the bigger picture, they are moving you towards your bigger things!
• keep in mind that every single small step is as important as your big goal
• take a moment to learn something from each small step as to how it relates to the bigger goal
• don’t focus on the success of your big goal but on what you accomplished with your small steps
• with that in mind, take a moment at the end of the day to reflect on what you accomplished with your many small steps
• then think about what new small steps you might take the next day!
• develop a routine: make it a habit to focus on all of your small steps

And one last thing, when taking your small steps, pace yourself!

While the future might belong to those who are fast, it doesn’t mean you have to rush through the day

(P.s. The scrabble math works. It’s 49. Christa checked it. As she did with the letter scores. As she does.)