Listen. Can you hear the raucous crowd roar? You are the star today. You are the champion. You are the victor. Yep. YOU.
A few weeks ago, I heard a television sports commentator mention that a faltering football team could “applaud the small victories” of the game. The losing team could hold their head high because they had great improvements in their passing game and the defense was showing more promise. If I recall correctly, no one was injured on their team that night either.
Applaud the Small Victories
I love that statement: applaud the small victories. So what does that look like for us in our busy, everyday non-gridiron clashes? What simple accomplishments can we give a high-five, fist-bump or the wave to in this day?
Maybe it’s you simply getting out of bed without much pain. Or perhaps you got the kids dressed, fed and off to school on time. Maybe you turned in a report to your boss. Or you may have caught up on the day’s emails or made it to workout. Just maybe you passed on that decadent junk food today.
For me today so far, my small victories are writing to you in this blog and getting up extra early to make a 7:15 a.m. appointment. Ugh and yay all rolled into one in waking up before my 5:45 alarm and not drinking caffeine. (Yep, I’ve been caffeine-free for nearly 30 years! And many of you already know how animated I am naturally.)
Shout Out to You
So I want to take a minute and give a shout out to your small victories in this day, October 21, 2021. 10-21-21. Even if you may not feel like you have accomplished much today, you have. 1) You are awake. 2) You are reading my words. Check. Check. Those are two of your small victories. If you need encouragement on counting your small victories, here’s a few quotes to ponder:
“Little by little one walks far.” —Peruvian Proverb
“Success is a series of small victories.”—Unknown
“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”
—Vincent Van Gogh
“Daily wins lead to a lifetime of success.” —Unknown
“Small Victories: Spotting improbably moments of grace.” —Anne Lamott
“Victory is sweetest when you’ve known defeat.” —Malcolm Forbes
Looks like a number of wise folks through the ages have weighed in on the topic of victories in the small things. Even Jesus expressed the importance of not overlooking small actions when He said, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much….” (Luke 16:10).
So can you hear the loud clapping from my office directly to you? Bravo. Well done. You have made progress. Take a minute and look back over your small victories today. You ARE the star today. You ARE the champion. You ARE the victor. Yep. YOU.
Very encouraging, Beth! I passed on a piece of carrot cake and only licked the knife after I served everyone. That counts, right? As Mother Teresa said, “We can’t all do great things but we can all do small things with great love.” (I think I have that right.) Small things matter!
Nancy, I love the Mother Teresa quote. Always one of my favorites too. Thank you for sharing that. I might just go back in and add that to the blog. Passing up on carrot cake is fortified willpower. I’d count that as 2-3 small victories. 🙂
The Luke 15:10 verse is one of my life time favorites!! Thanks for the reminder.
How wonderful to know that I quoted one of your favorites, Sandra. I’d like to improve on remembering and counting my small victories. Just realizing this is a small victory in itself.
Love love love it! I find huge joy in the daily small victories. It’s one way we have learned to measure progress and success in challenging seasons. Thank you for the encouragement!
Thank you, Teri. Yes, you have long lived small victories in each day and season as it comes. Bless you for modeling how to find joy and peace in the hours and not just the days.
I needed this message sweet friend! Also, a reminder to relish in these small victories is the name of the game!!! Will start practicing this today!
Thank you for always thinking of ministering to others,
Terry
Thank you, Terry, for your words of encouragement. Those of us who tend toward high-achieving (me!) can find joy and peace in shifting our focus to the small victories instead of continually checking the over-sized accomplishments off our crammed to-do list. Perhaps my new motto will be “bit by bit instead of big by big.”