A rut is a habit or pattern that has become dull and unproductive but is hard to change.
I know a thing or two about ruts, as I've experienced many of them. It can be tough because, in the moment, a rut feels endless and impossible to break through. But recently I'm realizing that the best way to get over a rut of any kind is to set myself up for a small win.
Why are Small Wins Important?
Imagine if you wanted to get fit and run a 5k. What if you went straight to it? No prep work, no training, you just wake up one day and do it. That wouldn't make any sense! And if you're not someone who does cardio regularly, you might not survive.
When we only focus on "huge" goals or stretch goals, it's like expecting to win a Super Bowl when there was no preparation on the front end.
A small win is important because it creates the momentum needed in order to accomplish the "main" goal. Just as big doors swing from small hinges, the small wins lead us to the big wins. A small win helps develop clarity, boost confidence, and reduce fear. The purpose of a small win is to remind us that we can do difficult things or things that require a degree of discipline.
Set Up a Small Win
I want to emphasize that a small win will look different for everyone, it's not one-size-fits-all. The unique thing about a small win, however, is that it's up to you to determine what exactly it should be.
At some point, we get sick of being in a rut and decide to take some action. For me, this happened last weekend when I decided I wanted to get back into the things that I enjoy. I took out my old whiteboard and created a list of things I wanted to do for every day this week. It included taking time out to brainstorm writing topics, reboot the blog's weekly newsletter, stream gameplay, etc. Everything was broken down by the weekday, and then I used my calendar to schedule specific times for all of these things.
The goal, or "small win", I set up for myself was to do everything I set out to do on that whiteboard. Why did I make this a small win? Because I have trouble with consistency! There are times when I will have something I scheduled for myself in my calendar but I don't follow through. I figure the stakes are low because I'm not at the point (yet) where a lot of these things I'm doing are profitable. However, I had to look beyond that. Whether or not writing and streaming are profitable they are things that I love doing and they make me feel like myself. A lot of times when I'm in a rut, I've actually just lost my sense of self.
With that being said, completing the whiteboard was a very big small win for me (yes, I know that sounds funny). As the week went on and I was writing on different topics, I kept thinking "oh right, I like researching....I like gaming....I like writing....I like all of these things and I'm pretty good at them!"
Celebrate!
I didn't really understand when people told me to "celebrate the small wins". For some reason, it felt like celebrating too soon. Why should I celebrate over something so trivial? What good does that do?
The truth of the matter--it is important to celebrate our small wins. What is a small win if not just a step closer to the big one? With whom you celebrate is entirely up to you. For me, that was my husband. I made him aware of my goal to stick to my checklist and schedule. And the great thing is that he didn't try to undermine it. He didn't say "Well those are things you used to do all the time? What makes them so special now?" He didn't tell me that those goals were "too small", he simply encouraged and congratulated me.
Reader, this piece was a bit short but it's because the answer is simple: Small wins are what make the big wins possible. Because if I can write consistently for six days, I could probably do seven. If I can do it for seven, then I can do it for fourteen. And if I can do it for fourteen days straight, what's stopping me from getting back into the consistent writing schedule I had for myself a few years ago?
Take some time to think about some possible small wins you can chase this week. Maybe you're like me and you want to get back into an organized schedule. Maybe you want to workout a specific amount of times a week. Maybe you want to make more time for friends and family. Whatever it may be, I urge you to pursue it. We can't expect to make it to the top of the stairs if we don't take it step by step.
Thanks for reading,
--Raven
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