Listen to this blog: https://anchor.fm/meghan-greenwood/episodes/Make-Small-Wins-a-Thing-erd71g

Day in and day out. We undoubtedly hold ourselves to a standard higher than any generation before us. Working, parenting, managing, creating…none of it ever seems like enough. And self-care, do we even find it worthy of our time?

If this hits home, then you’re not alone. Our time is stretched so thin (even during a pandemic) that the everyday wins are likely unnoticed and most certainly forgotten. When we finish one thing, it’s on to the next. No moments of relaxation, savoring, or peace.

As a society, we tend to disregard the small wins instead of realizing how incremental they are to reaching our big goals. And this is detrimental to our motivation.

Reported by Dr. Jude King, small wins can be incredibly powerful. They not only pave the way towards big accomplishments, but they literally activate our brain’s reward centers. With this stimulation, the brain dumps motivating juices (dopamine and testosterone) that keep us energized to tackle the next activity. Basically, the more little things we do, the more big things we can eventually achieve.

We need to make savoring the small wins the norm. And I’m talking about the SMALLEST of victories. Washed the clothes AND put them away. Cooked a meal AND cleaned the dishes. Texted a friend AND planned our next visit. Applied for a job AND didn’t doubt every entry before clicking submit.

All of these little wins shouldn’t be disregarded as routine. They shouldn’t be ignored or pushed off as expectations. Life is chaotic and the bar is set way too high. Let’s take it down a notch, for our own mental health.