Little Wins Big Victory: It’s The Little Things
Little Wins Big Victory. I’m sure if you’re reading this, you're curious to know the “what?” or “why?” Well, if I’m being honest, these were the first words that came to mind when I had the itching to start a blog. Multiple people have told me to write a book over the last year, but I think that might be slightly hypocritical because I couldn’t tell you the last time I read a full book. Writing has always been fun to me, so this seemed like a perfect alternative. Writing, and sharing what you write are two very different giants, but I feel that God has given me so much over the years that could help someone else, or even just make someone smile on a hard day. I’m jumping out of my comfort zone and giving it a shot. I came up with the phrase “little wins big victories” from a combination of wisdom and encouragement I’ve received in my life. If you know me, you know my road has been full of bumps and bruises when it comes to being an athlete, and if you don’t, check back next week when I share my story! Before I get to that, I first want to share what these four words mean to me, and how reminding myself of them has gotten me through the best and worst years of my life.
A phrase I grew up hearing at almost every sports practice- “it’s the little things.” That slogan came from the best coach I’ve ever played for. This coach happens to be my dad, so I also heard this when I forgot to turn a light off in the bathroom, or accidentally left the garage open too many times to count (sorry mom and dad). Those forgetful habits seemed so small, but my parents reminded me- little things add up. At first when my dad applied this to sports, I took it very literally. I remember being at a basketball practice in 5th grade, with my new travel basketball team doing the simplest, and seemingly stupid ball handling drills. He explained to us how if we did the little things right and did them consistently, the big things will be easy. If we practiced our ball handling and form shooting every day, it would become “muscle memory” (another one of my dad’s favorite terms.) Early on in my sports career this really motivated me. If I hit wiffle balls off the tee every single day, I’d be hitting homers someday. The older I got, this came full circle both on and off the court. My senior year of high school, my softball and basketball teams went a combined 43-2, and I was named Player of the Year in both sports. It was a group who mostly had grown up being coached by my dad. Obviously, I’m a little biased, but I think that it goes to show that hard work and consistency on “the little things” will all come back to you and reward you in the best ways, no matter how hard the road was.
Fast forward 10 years, I take that advice a little more to heart. Four major injuries and a world pandemic later, I’ve had to focus on the little things, because for a while it was all I thought I had. Sports are just one example, but you can look at anything in life that you're passionate about, and realize that it’s temporary and can be taken away in the blink of an eye. Sports are incredible because there is so much within them that we can carry over to life. You can’t win the conference until you win all the games necessary, and you can’t skip over the “easy teams.” You can’t become a doctor until you complete all the years of schooling and experience required. My point is, don’t wait for the big victories in your life to be your happiest. Celebrate the little wins along the way, no matter how tough or easy they were. If you don’t, you're setting yourself up for a pretty disappointing life, because life is a roller coaster full of ups and downs, hards days and easy days. I had to learn that through some pretty tough years. Sports were taken away from me, and I thought it was all over because what I was most passionate about was gone. I was wrong, and God showed me that He has so much else in store.
Another important person in my life sent me a message a few months ago when I was in a really dark place recovering from an achilles injury. It said “Day by day, and we can’t jump to see what later shows. Day by day fight. For LITTLE gains. It’s not fair. It’s not easy. But we can do hard things.” I read this text over and over again while I was stuck in my bed not able to walk for months. I was definitely going through a really hard thing, but I wasn’t doing it well. I was going through the motions and lost sight of what I really wanted. It took a few months, but I realized that how I felt and dealt with the situation was entirely up to me. I could let myself be miserable, do rehab and just wait the 9 months until my life was “normal again” (and for a while I chose that, but let me be the first to tell you, it was AWFUL. I’ll get more into that in a future post). My other option was to start taking things one day at a time, and begin finding little wins to celebrate and work towards. It made a HUGE difference. I started being thankful for more, and working on the other aspects of my life I’ve never focused on. I was still a student, with a chance to really focus on school without as many basketball obligations. I still had 2 working arms and a weight room. I have amazing friends who I could spend more time with. And I had more time to work on the “little things” like we did in those 5th grade basketball practices. (you’re never too old to work on the fundamentals:) The list could go on but what I’m getting at is this- That one thing in your life that sucks, is all you think about, and seems to be consuming you, is really not the end of the world. It’s not your story, and it’s not the end of you. I promise you CAN get through it. But don’t just go through the motions with a negative attitude. Turn that trial into your new “sport.” It’s a challenge, but with hard work and a good attitude you’ve got it! Especially with Jesus on your side.
Bear with me on this, I’m new to writing blogs, so I hope I didn't bore you too much. I have lots of topics in mind I want to talk about, and stories to share, so check back every week for something new and I can’t wait to see where this goes! Click the button below and let me know what you think:) Go get those Little Wins this week!
