Jan 6, 2014

Collecting small wins

5 days have already passed by in this new year. In a blink, we might find ourselves in the end of January. Days fly past so quickly that we sometimes wonder what we did in the last one month (and eventually, the last one year). I have been in such situations quite often and so I decided to start a tiny habit which I have named as "Small wins".

In my brand new 2014 diary, I have started a separate section where I'm writing down my small achievements everyday that has made some difference to either me or my family. For example,
- when I went to an ice-cream parlor and didn't have a scoop of ice-cream (a spoon to taste doesn't count though ;-) ).
- when I did 1 mile Leslie Sansone walk (I know people who walk 4-5 miles, but for someone like me, 1 mile is a victory)

I'm hoping that these small, tiny wins would make a big difference at the end of the year. And it would also be fun to read them later and have a laugh with loved ones.

If you would also like to start something similar,
- grab a 2014 diary if you love pen and paper. Or just add a note in Google calendar.
- at the end of everyday, spend 5 minutes, thinking about those small wins of that day. It could be anything, for instance:
     - you controlled your short temper towards some incident and didn't react immediately
     - you read a few pages of a book you have been wanting to read
     - you ate just 1 piece of a dessert instead of the usual 2 pieces
     - you woke up 15 min earlier than usual
- note them down and end with a smiley :-)

Behavior change doesn't happen overnight. Most of the times, we end up disappointed after a week into the new year, when we fail to keep up our resolutions. Taking tiny steps, making small conscious changes and being aware of our day-to-day choices help us move forward in our lives.

In one of the episodes of Castle (my recent favorite show), he says "Life is a journey and you can't predict the outcome.  The only thing that you can control are the choices you make and that defines who you are." Inspiration came from unexpected source and I quickly jotted it down in my Evernote app :-)

These small wins are like the shells that we run around and collect from a sea shore. Once we bring them home, we can make beautiful collages as a whole.

Start collecting your small wins, they can be such a positive boost to our day-to-day lives.

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