Seek the Small Win.

I’ve been thinking a lot about progress and what it means to move in the direction of the goals we set out to accomplish in life.  Our professional career, success inside challenge we face with our kids, our relationships, the physical goals we set for ourselves, whatever it is—professional or personal--how do we do it, how do we get to where we are going? 

The big breakthrough or opportunity for grandeur forward motion can feel like luck and timing, which isn’t always on our side.   Getting to where we want to go doesn’t always come easy.  When we get stuck, what motivates us to get back on track and continue striving?  How do we move forward and stay inspired?  I think it’s in seeking and celebrating small wins.  Starting first with what comes easy.  

What if we started giving ourselves some credit and acknowledgement for the everyday, consistent things we are already doing well?  Regardless of the day or season in life, small wins are in there somewhere.  Taking a shower to get your day started, making your bed in the morning, staying caught up on returning calls and emails at work, showing up early for an appointment, making dinner when you really want takeout, whatever comes most easy to you in this moment.  Start with celebrating in these little spaces you might be overlooking because it’s not the big win or end goal.  This is the place of intention, the middle, where a lot of our work often goes unnoticed.   
  
Little wins create an opening for motivation and progress.  A place where upward, forward motion already exists. 

We ought to be easier on ourselves, give a little grace and space from our lofty dreams and goals.  When we stop for a moment and take notice of what is working and where we are showing-up, we find an opportunity to regain momentum.  I believe our greatest motivation to keep striving comes in celebration of these little everyday decisions we’re making along the way.  Seek to celebrate and take the small win.  You’ve earned it and it’s quite possibly the beginning of something bigger ahead. 

40 Things

40 things over 40 years that stay with me and matter most right now.

For Ava + Carson

Choose courage over comfort.

Your ability to be resilient changes everything.

Live and love with the long-term perspective in mind.

Humility is rare and beautiful.

Make self-care a priority.

Forgiveness will set you free.

Self-compassion first.

Find the humor in everything.

Be flexible.

Make time to do the things you love.

There’s freedom on the other side of acceptance.

Focus on strengthening your top two strengths, not on where you are weak.

Quality of life is determined by the quality of your questions (Tony Robbins).

Go outside more often.

Call your mom.

Energy is contagious, spread the good kind.

Ask for help, you weren’t designed to do it alone.

More heart, less hustle.

You can’t take others where you aren’t willing to go yourself.

Listen to understand + listen more than you speak.

Plan for a day with pj’s, coffee, a good book, and bad food.

Learn to enjoy your own company.

Move and care for your body, it will determine the capability of your mind.

Traditions are treasures, protect them.

Those you spend the most time with will have the greatest influence on your life, choose wisely.

Read often.  Be a teacher and a student, we never stop learning.

Dance. Dance. Dance.  You can never be too old or too cool.

Pause to praise people.

Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you.

Nothing is worth closing your heart over, ever.

You'll never be alone, Jesus goes with you.

Ambiguity is often perceived negatively, take time to create clarity.

We become what we repeatedly do (Stephen Covey). Be mindful of your habits.

Invest in comfortable, good quality pajamas.

Create and make stuff.

Give people what they need, not what they deserve.

You can do anything you want, just not all at once.

Time has a way of changing things, stay open.

There is wisdom in both the experienced and beginner perspective.

Motherhood (parenthood) will change who you want to be in this world, lean in for the adventure and discovery.

Curiosity

The anticipation and reality of a New Year comes with mixed emotion.  I often feel a bit of sadness as another year and holiday season pass, which is also goodbye to precious down, idle time with the kids.  It is also exciting and relieving (depending on the previous year) but never comes without an anticipatory anxious thread of expectation.  Inside the calm in the few days leading back to routine and in the thrust of a new year built around annual events and new adventures, I try and carve space to find a moment to focus on what I hope for in the year ahead. 

In replacement of the overwhelming task of creating a detailed list of resolutions, I’ve chosen to select a guiding word for the year ahead of me (inspired by One Little Word).  My word for 2017 is curiosity.  Curiosity is a word welcoming opportunity for growth, outside of immediate opinion, outside of reactive position or decision.  When I think about curiosity, I am reminded of its opposing counterpart, certainty.  Choosing curiosity over the comforting, predictability of certainty asks more of us. For me, Curiosity is:

Listening a little longer before judgment or opinion

Trying something new

Less control of the outcome

Letting go and allowing trust in faith of what is to come

Permission for doubt and uncertainty

Allowing space for new things, new thoughts, new ideas

More imagination, more dreaming, more courage

Pause, presence and stillness in the current moment

Time and intention to be more thoughtful

Welcoming question and curiosity

Slowing down

Being open to revisiting old habits and ways of doing things

Acceptance and gratitude for things as they are

Opportunity to learn and share 

Inside the vulnerability of unpredictable curiosity awaits a neutral pause and promise for the potential and growth of a new year.  Hello, 2017.