Category: Wins

Why Small Wins Bring Big Happiness

Small wins create positive momentum. The small wins you get during a day help you believe you can achieve the bigger goals as you work for them.

Making a win, even a small one, will trigger the brain to release some dopamine.  Dopamine is a chemical in the brain that boosts motivation.

Always celebrate victories. Small victories get small celebrations, and more significant victories earn larger celebrations. You are doing this to build up your confidence and reinforce the positive habits that are helping you win.

Small wins are significant. They shift focus from overwhelming long-term goals to manageable progress. Small wins reduce stress and anxiety by providing a sense of control.

Recognizing little wins trains your brain for gratitude. Doing this helps make happiness more accessible.

Winning the day

Fifty years ago tomorrow, three brave souls who had left the orbit of our world, entered orbit around our moon. After some orbits, the astronauts climbed into a lunar lander and descended to the moon. This was the first manned mission to ever go to the moon and actually set foot upon it.

Although the crew itself was lauded with praise and admiration, the three crew members kept on pointing to the thousands of workers at NASA and around the world.  The astronauts let everyone know it was all the people working tirelessly for a decade who put them on the moon and got them home safely.  The moon was not a three-man odyssey, it was a feat that was carried out by thousands who each did their part above and beyond the rational expectations of a mere job.

Whether it is going to the moon, flying a successful mission, or winning a boxing contest, when the person out front succeeds, everyone connected with the victory has won.  Each person from the pilot to the guy or gal that filled the plane’s tires with air has won a part of that victory.  For if they had not done their part well, the entire mission could have easily failed.

This is a good lesson for us to remember the next time we think that doing so-so work will be fair enough to slide by.  We need to work to win.  Sliding by is for kids on a school playground.

Thank you for being with me today.  I hope to be with you again soon.

Softly Speaking Wins

From time to time, we will run into situations where someone will get aggravated and start speaking loudly or aggressively. And, when peaceful calmness is broken, no one wins. Aggravation and loss of one’s temper never put anyone in a good light.

Speak softly, for loudness and agitation only bring more volume and anxiety in return. If you talk softly and look at the other person while doing so, and the louder they get, the softer you speak, they will calm down, and the tension will begin to evaporate. No one is helped by anger. And, no one is understanding anything, while voices are enraged.  Anger only causes more anxiety and rage.

At that point, everyone is trying to outdo everyone else to win.

If you want to win, be quiet and in control. Doing so you can disarm rising tensions.