When we are working on a goal, it is important to recognize the progress toward it. It is easy to get lost in the “end result”: The Finish Line. Reaching a goal is only one moment on the journey of progress. If we attach only to the goal, and not the person we are becoming on the way, the finish can be a letdown. We miss all the successes and small changes we created to get there. The tiny habits we built on each day. We create joy in the journey by celebrating all the way to goal.
I am someone who plans daily. I have written over 700 daily plans. Some are in notebooks, expensive journals, planners, or a blank piece of copy paper. The vessel is not important to me. I always say the planner that works is the one you use. What you will find on almost all of these plans are my daily wins. Some directly related to my goals and many just ways I showed up that day. There are days when my win might be that I got up, took a shower, and made the bed. Those are the easy ones to add. The hard-fought wins are not getting upset at my son for forgetting to move his car for the street sweeper, or not having a glass of wine at the end of a tough day. The Wins Matter.
Every time we acknowledge our success and wins, our brains take notice. As the wins accumulate, so does the confidence that comes with them. The growing wins drown out the noise of difficulties. It softens the blow of challenges because your brain knows it can overcome them. It has evidence of doing this over and over. Our brain has to practice new thoughts, new beliefs, and new patterns of what we are capable of doing.
If you have ever listened to Tony Robbins, he talks about the power of our minds. He often says, “Where our mind goes, energy flows.” If we put our brainpower to work focusing on the successes, it will look for more success. If we focus on the problems, our brain will find the problems. It is just how the brain is wired. It may sound like woo-woo, but there is a science to it. You may have bought a new car, and suddenly you see that make, model, or color everywhere. This is a good example of our brain looking for something that it never really noticed before, but was always there. Our brain is seeking out the information now.
If we look for wins and successes, our brain will see more of them. Count the wins. Celebrate the wins. Put your mind to work at seeing what is possible.
Conversation for Change 