‘Small steps lead to big success’ – Diya Raj ❄️
It’s very easy to focus on what we haven’t achieved rather than celebrating what we have.
Any overnight success you know is born of small steps in the right direction that sometimes don’t feel like big steps at all.
Only yesterday a career coaching legal client said what many lawyers say – you achieve success after months on a case / win at trial and boom, you’re straight on to the next with little pause for recognition or celebration of your success. It can feel like a never-ending hamster wheel.
Same for many of us entrepreneurs – the monkey mind will focus on what we haven’t done and what else we need to be doing rather than pausing to take stock of the huge wins we never would’ve imagined even hitting when we started out.
I’ll admit I couldn’t even imagining making anywhere near enough to make a living out of coaching when I started out and if someone said I’d get to fulfil a huge dream of writing for publications like the FT and Marie Claire, I would’ve been utterly overjoyed. As for the bucket-list item of becoming fluent in French, no way!
I’m sure you have many examples of the same you’ve minimised as our monkey minds are prone to do in the stressful busy-ness of everyday like.
So pause for thought today and reflect on 3 small steps forward you’re proud of taking over the last few months / 3 things you’re proud of achieving. Even if one is just surviving and not losing your sh*t! These can be personal or professional.
And one more thing, celebrate it! Studies show that recognition and reward release a dopamine hit that’s essential to boosting happiness and further growth.
And for managers out there looking to boost team happiness and productivity? Be sure to recognise individual and team success and express it overtly with praise. Over 80% of attendees in mental health and wellbeing workshops I’ve led cite a real deficiency here.
When was the last time someone said thank you and well done?
How do you feel when people say this? And how does it impact your self-esteem, productivity and performance at work?
Right!
So happy Thursday, all.
Well done for all you’ve achieved this week no matter how small.
