One of the reasons I do what I do with my speaking is I want to encourage people to recognize that we are all capable of accomplishing so much more than for what we give ourselves credit.
I worked really hard on that last sentence to make sure I didn’t have a dangling preposition.
Another reason I do what I do is to convince myself that I am capable of so much more than for what I give myself credit.
During my presentation on courage one of the points I make is to Celebrate Small Victories.
So often we set goals for ourselves and we don’t celebrate until we reach the mountaintop.
I also believe that if we don’t celebrate the small milestones along the way we can get discouraged and stop working to achieve our ultimate goal.
When I played basketball in high school we did a challenging drill everyday in practice.
We had to dribble the ball off the wall with our dribbling hand and the ball stretched out above our heads. The drill lasted two minutes. It didn’t take long before the ball and our arms became very tired and heavy.
Every day as soon as we started the drill there was always a teammate who yelled out, “Less than two minutes to go, guys!”
I remember kind of laughing at the comment because we had just started but I also remember thinking to myself, “I have less time to go than I did a few seconds ago.” This was a small victory to be celebrated!
Our coach would yell out the time remaining every thirty seconds. Every thirty seconds was a small victory.
In this journey of mine over the last few years I have begun to recognize these small victories more and more. I have also become so much more aware of how little I recognized them during much of my adult life.
With that I’d like to share with you three small victories I have had in just the last few weeks.
In sharing these victories it’s important to understand that every Monday as I write my blog I wonder if it’s worth my time. I wonder if anyone even reads them and if they are of any encouragement to anyone.
A couple of weeks ago I spoke at a breakfast of small business owners and business leaders. Afterwards a lady named Dr. Rita Webster asked me if she could feature me, and the topic of courage, in her next blog post, which you can see here. This was a small victory to be celebrated!
Secondly, I received an e-mail from a senior editor at The Good Men Project.com. Somehow she had seen one of my posts and wondered if I would be willing to have it posted on their site. You can see that post on goodmenproject.com here. This was a small victory to be celebrated!
Finally, I recently wrote a post about Pat Boone and The Beatles. Someone who operates a Twitter feed with anything Beatles related picked up my blog post I had tweeted and posted it on their online newspaper The Beatles Hub! If you scroll down in the Arts and Entertainment section you can see the post. This was a small victory to be celebrated!
Have you celebrated any small victories lately? If so, I’d love to hear about them!
Do you have the courage to recognize that maybe even getting out of bed for you is something to celebrate?
I encourage you to find the little nuggets in your day that are worth celebrating!
As the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
Each step is a victory worth celebrating!
Ephesians 3:20
Have a STRONG and COURAGEOUS day!
I have been a grandma now for 1 1/2 years. I have experienced alot of anxiety during this time. I am always saying to myself, I am just not a good grandma. I am inadequate one. I panic sometimes and cannot sleep the night before I take care of my grandchild. I lay there thinking I just need to throw in the towel. I raised 3 kids, I never felt inadequate then. Now I fear I won’t measure up to my daughter and her husband. I love my grandchild with all of my heart. There is nothing better than his smile and watching him run down the hallway in his home! I finally went to Google today and read story after story of grandmas like me feeling the same way. I feel it takes courage to continue on being the best grandma I can be. I hope someday to overcome this anxiety but I still have self doubt. This is something that I need courage to do each time I babysit this little miracle. God blessed me with him and I must persevere!
Vanessa, thank you for taking the time to read and comment on my post. Thank you as well for sharing your struggles with your anxiety around your grandson. Measuring up to someone else’s expectations is always a challenge and one that is difficult to overcome. In your own words, you were successful as a mother which means you have all the tools to be successful as a grandmother. It does take courage to face your fears as you are doing. I encourage you to stop worrying about meeting some expectations that you may not even know what they are and simply love your grandson. That is the very best thing you can do for your grandson, just love him. Your anxiety isn’t going to magically disappear but as you courageously love him every time you see him it just might begin to lessen with each visit! Blessings, Vanessa!
Dave, another wonderful view from the clouds…..
Isn’t is amazing how realizing small victories can propel us forward and allow us to accomplish great things. In our world today, we seem to only appreciate the big things, and as that old saying goes, we “did not stop to smell the roses”. From YOU and this blog, my mind is constantly reminded to do just that, stop and pay attention, while still a work in progress, you have a wonderful way of sharing life experiences that awaken my inner soul and allow me to explore my life from a different perspective. Blessings!!
Craig, thank you for your kind and encouraging words and for taking the time to share them. I was much too old before I realized we are always a work in progress and there is no time we ever “arrive” and have all the answers. If we have some sense of self-awareness we realize we can always grow, change and learn. I’m sure with your recent challenges in your life you have a much easier time of stopping and smelling the roses! Blessings to you as well, my friend!
Dave Cornell
LOL, I waited till 69+ before the change, you are much younger. My new thing is Lord, I am where you want me, so just help me get through it! Strange isn’t it how we all know the destination but we still don’t enjoy the journey. WHY IS THAT??