Incremental Change
I hate to admit, but I’m one of those people that likes to see fast results of some goal or effort I’ve been working on. Logically, I know outcomes take time but sometimes I find myself getting frustrated when they take longer than anticipated. Patience is definitely a virtue.
However, when the payoff comes it feels fantastic, like leaping for joy fantastic. Over the last few weeks I’ve seen noticeable changes in my yoga practice. So much that I almost gasped out loud at a pose earlier in the week. It was a pose I’ve done for many months and even though I’ve managed through it, my form and grace could have been much better. Then this week, just like magic; I was doing the pose with ease. Queue the balloons and confetti…it was a little victory for my soul.
Last week I had similar results from a different pose. I was already holding the position for a few seconds before I realized what was happening…..I was kicking ass! Let me be clear……I was kicking my own ass…..no one else’s journey was important here, but mine. I try hard not to compare myself to the other people; as it’s my yoga practice and my path, and as the saying goes, “comparison is the thief of joy.”
So, how did I get from there to here? Incremental change, which is a small adjustment towards a targeted outcome. I hadn’t even noticed I’d been getting a tiny bit better over the months. The baby steps all strung together week after week, and month after month and created my moment of triumph. A triumph that only I knew about and silently, yet joyfully, celebrated on my mat.
Why is it that we’re always looking for the gold….the big prize, when the little ones are just as important? The little victories are what get us to the finish line. They keep us striving to be better than we were yesterday. Keep doing the work……the hard work……the dedicated work……and allow the little victories to come. Incremental change makes us better. What small changes have you made that added up to your own triumph? Look for the small victories……they are game changers; then celebrate the hell out of them.
xoxox…...Sheryl