I have a confession to make…
I sometimes feel like a useless, unproductive failure. I have accumulated an extensive list of unfinished projects and forgotten dreams.
I really want to break this cycle and take action… but how?
Just the other day, I was reminiscing about when I had the distinct pleasure of meeting one of my favourite musicians, Nathaniel Rateliff.
His band were performing in Melbourne, Australia during a world tour of their first album and I’d flown over to see them. His band had become an “overnight success” after a few life changing TV performances - one of them being on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon!
In fact it was this performance that turned me on to him and his band. As a recent fan I kinda knew of his story, but not in great detail.
I spotted him in the crowded mosh pit watching his opening act. I plucked up the courage to go over and meet him.
I awkwardly approached, introduced myself and asked “how does it feel to have “made it”? To have these crowds singing your songs back at you every night?”
What he said at that moment completely changed my perspective on success…
He said, “it’s incredible, but feels a bit weird - it’s taken 10 years to become an “overnight success” and here we are. We just go out there and do what we’ve been doing since the first gig.”
“For us, this gig is no different to the empty bars we used to play, but the more we played the more people came. We celebrated every show on the way, and we’re thankful every time our music connects with someone new, that’s what drives us to keep going.”
What I took from him was that there’s power in celebrating all the little wins along the way. And you can use them to set you on the path towards success.
This fleeting meet and greet has stuck with me for almost a decade now. While the interaction probably wasn’t life-changing for Nathaniel, it certainly was for me.
Recently I’ve revisited this idea because I felt stuck in a monotonous rut struggling with motivation and lacking the consistency to get shit done.
So I thought I’d remind myself to celebrate little wins and see if it can help set me back on the right path.
What if instead of getting intimidated by how far I am from achieving my goals or getting frustrated by the size of my to-do list, I could focus on little meaningful “wins” and use them to steer me towards actually achieving my goals?
As everyone from Nathaniel Rateliff to Jeff Bezos will tell you, overnight success rarely happens overnight.
Little wins form good habits which can turn into relentless motivation. Let’s use these wins as fuel to propel ourselves forward, step by step, little win by little win.
Understanding the power of little wins - From Small Acorns grow Mighty Oaks
One of my old managers used to frequently say “from small acorns grow mighty oaks”, and he’s not wrong.
In the pursuit of success or happiness, we often focus on the towering milestones that define our goals. Like “my first goal in running a marathon is to run 10km!” Or “as soon as I get 1,000 customers I’ll feel successful!” when you’re only at the start of the journey.
Inevitably, it takes ages to get to these milestones and you give up halfway through.
But as Nathaniel Rateliff described to me, little wins have an immense impact on personal growth and motivation.
Harnessing the power of these seemingly little wins can set us on the path to greatness, creating unstoppable momentum towards our goals.
But why is it that little wins have such a big impact?
Well, it’s because our brains are wired to respond to rewards. It’s important, especially on your darkest days, to feel a sense of momentum.
Neuroscientific research shows us that little wins trigger the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward.
This neurochemical response not only enhances our mood but also strengthens the neural pathways related to motivation and learning. What this means is that the smallest achievements can have a profound impact on getting you out of your rut, and cultivating a more optimistic mindset.
By embracing and celebrating these little wins, we are literally training our brains to associate progress and success with positive emotions, reinforcing our drive to achieve more.
According to research by Teresa Amabile from Harvard Business School, people who tracked their small achievements every day enhanced their motivation and were more likely to complete tasks and achieve goals.
Successful people and their little wins
There are plenty of successful individuals who attribute their monumental success to embracing little wins.
Jeff Bezos, who needs no introduction, is someone who understands the power of celebrating little wins. He started Amazon in his garage, and has started several other companies since then. Acknowledging that they all started small, and grew through little wins. He’s truly embraced the acorns to oaks metaphor too.
In this interview Bezos literally says “The biggest oak starts from an acorn, and if you want to do anything new, you’ve got to be willing to let that acorn grow into a little sapling and then finally into a small tree, and maybe one day it will be a big business on its own. We know that big things start small.”
Similarly, J.K. Rowling encountered numerous setbacks and rejections on her path to success. From being turned down multiple times, to loss of confidence in her stories.
However, by focusing on the little wins, such as completing a chapter or receiving positive feedback from early readers, she persevered and ultimately wrote the generation-defining Harry Potter franchise to become one of the most celebrated authors of our time.
And even Gandhi, the leader of India's nonviolent independence movement, celebrated little wins along the path to freedom. He recognized the significance of each peaceful protest, each person inspired, and each step taken toward achieving independence. Gandhi's ability to acknowledge and celebrate these small victories kept the momentum and spirit of the movement alive.
Hearing the mega success stories from Bezos, Rowling and Gandhi, we can see that little wins can generate the momentum we need to head towards finally achieving our life-long goals. Remember, just like you, they all started off with nothing but a dream that grew into something incredible.
But how do we identify the little wins that will actually help us achieve monumental success?
Make them meaningful
Celebrating the little wins is an undoubtedly great and valuable practice.
Even failure can be taken as a little win. All it takes is to reframe the failure into a little win by finding a lesson to take away from it. Just as Thomas Edison did, famously saying “I didn’t invite 1 working light bulb, I found 99 ways to make one that doesn’t work!”
However, sometimes while following the concept of little wins, we can accidentally stray off the path away from our ultimate goals. Many of us have fallen into this trap before, myself included.
Little wins can get us moving, but it’s easy to end up on the road to nowhere if we’re chasing the wrong kind of little wins.
To make actual progress towards our goals and achieve what we set out to do, we have to make sure the little wins we pursue are meaningful.
We have to recognize that it’s not as simple as acknowledging any minor achievement. If we do that, we’re at risk of trivialising our progress, and becoming unproductive.
Celebrating irrelevant little wins is a bit like being on a rocking horse or a ferris wheel. Technically you’re in motion, but ultimately you’re not going anywhere.
So what little wins shouldn’t you celebrate?
Well, that depends on the goals you’ve set and what you’re trying to achieve.
These will be different for everyone. But realistically you need to make sure the wins are meaningful and are helping you achieve your ultimate end goal.
For example; maybe don’t celebrate binge watching MAFS Australia during your workday when you’ve got an impending EOD deadline or celebrate eating the 5th cupcake when your doctors told you to cut down on sugar. But maybe do celebrate finally sorting out one of your overcrowded sock draws or reorganising your messy inbox so you can actually see what still needs to be done.
Make sense? Excellent.
But what if you’re at a crossroads and don’t know where to go next?
Engage your brain, and just do something
When you’re stuck and don’t know which direction to take, it's important to remember that taking action, any action, can be the key to unlocking new possibilities.
When describing his “Do Something” principle, Mark Manson said “Action isn’t just the effect of motivation, but also the cause of it.”
The smallest of actions, even just starting something, can give us inspiration and motivation to do something else.
We know from neuroscience that engaging in any activity stimulates the brain and increases the likelihood of finding new ways to do things.
By taking any sort of action, we activate our brains' creative centre and better our chances of figuring out what’s next.
This is key for entrepreneurs and small business owners who are trying to grow brands or sell products, but don’t have bosses and managers to tell them what to do.
The lesson here?
Just do something. Try it out. Learn, Adapt, overcome.
Overcoming the overwhelm of a massive goal
Another reason I often feel stuck is when I look at a task or a goal in its entirety and it seems massive! When a task seems impossible and I don’t even know where to start, I sometimes find myself doing nothing.
Literally nothing. Just staring at the screen. This exact thing happened as I started to write this post…
All I saw was the flashing cursor.
But I reminded myself to never let the scale of a goal become a barrier to action.
Rather than being overwhelmed by the size of a task or goal, as I was while starting to write this, I just needed to start small, then gain momentum.
Ryan Holiday talks about the Stoic principle of the obstacle becoming the way - meaning when faced with a problem, do anything to start towards solving it. Do the smallest possible thing - draft an email, find a phone number, read a research article etc. and before you know it, you’ll be on your way to overcoming the obstacle and achieving your goals.
For me, especially at work (or when writing this blog), whenever I’m feeling unproductive, overwhelmed or stuck on a problem and don’t think I’m making progress, I find a little easy win and tick that off. It can be as easy as “file that presentation away”; or respond to that email. Whatever reduces your to-do list and gives you a sense of momentum.
Word of warning though, it’s easy to get sucked into a procrastination trap where you head down a rabbit hole and accomplish a load of inessential tasks. Make sure you always have your ultimate goal in mind and you’ll be fine.
TOP TIP - If you’re really struggling and feeling overwhelmed, why not try writing down your thoughts using these journaling prompts:
What one little thing do I need to do to make today great?
What is the smallest step I can take today toward achieving my goal?
Little by little, bit by bit, your ultimate goals await
As I’ve found out first hand, it's not uncommon to feel overwhelmed by your unfinished projects and forgotten dreams.
But reflecting on that chance encounter with Nathaniel Rateliff, I was reminded of his unique path to success and how it can help me achieve my own goals.
Celebrate the little wins.
This concept has helped me unimaginably, especially when I’ve been stuck in a rut with dwindling motivation.
Instead of fixating on the distance between where I am and where I want to be, I remember to celebrate each meaningful step forward.
I’m focusing on the little wins. And you should too.
Success is not an elusive dream reserved for a select few. It's the product of consistent effort, resilience, and the willingness to celebrate your little wins.
Remember that greatness rarely happens overnight. Whether it's Nathaniel Rateliff, Jeff Bezos, J.K. Rowling, or Gandhi, all these successful people consistently embraced those little steps forward.
The journey begins by just doing something.
So, I want you to join me as we embrace the journey, savour each accomplishment, and chart a course for achieving all our goals!
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