Welcome to Monday Motivation - Small Wins

As writers, it is so incredibly easy to get really hyper-focused on the big things. We want to be published, win awards, roll in money, and all the things. I'm in that boat. I'm a human. Of course, I want my work to someday be noticed and celebrated. Just like you, I have dreams and hopes. I imagine looking at a bookshelf of my own books with a sense of pride and fulfillment. A life spent in creation is about as good of a life as I can imagine.

But it is also so easy to get caught up in what you don't have. Maybe you don't have a published book, yet. Or a finished book. Or a story started. The danger is comparing your dreams with your current position and coming away feeling lousy.

I am so incredibly prone to this. I am a dreamer. Truly. I have big huge ambitions for my life. And I can so easily beat myself up that I haven't published a single book, even though I wrote an entire novel. Or that I haven't written that book of philosophy yet. I still haven't competed in a slam poetry contest.

One thing I've found that allows me to have the best of both worlds is to keep my big dreams, but really really celebrate my small wins. How small is small? Small. Anything. Five minutes of writing. Just the right word choice. A page where I really bond with the character I'm writing. Sometimes, I even celebrate laying in bed all night and reading a good book.

The key for me is to celebrate any action or outcome I've taken in the direction I want to go. So, no, I don't celebrate wanting to write. I don't celebrate having the best of intentions but not doing anything. because I'd just be reinforcing behavior that I do not want to continue. The key for me is to celebrate action. And to really celebrate it. I say nice things to myself. I'll do the ka-ching motion. Or I'll let myself smile.

And you know what? It feels really good to celebrate myself for something I want to do. It feels right to say "good job Brian," and taking a moment to just feel good. Like, feel happy. And then, after I've celebrated my small win, I relax until it is time to take another step.

This week, find one small writing win to celebrate each and every day. Now,I know what you are going to say, "Brian I don't think I'll have one thing to celebrate each day," and my response is to go do one small thing. Make it small. Write for 10 minutes. Or five. The key here is to act, and then celebrate the act, and then to keep acting. Making progress in the writing life is about sustained activity over the course of years. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

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