The Power Of Small Wins
Are you sick and tired of letting yourself down?
Do you keep telling yourself that you are going to start practicing more and then never follow through? Over and over. Disappointing day after disappointing day. Do you end up feeling like a loser who just can’t get it together?
I have good news. You are not a loser. You are pretty normal.
I was talking to a friend of mine the other day. Let’s call him Sam.
Sam recently bought a cello and wants to learn how to play. He has grandiose dreams but can never seem to get himself to actually sit down and practice. Life is too busy. It feels like too much work. And he doesn’t even know where to begin.
Sound familiar?
We talked for a while and it became clear what he needed. What we all need. We found the solution to this problem so many of us find ourselves dealing with. The answer is small wins.
Why You Need Some Small Wins In Your Life
They give you small attainable goals. Big stretch goals are great but sometimes feel impossible and overwhelming. Focusing on small wins will give you small goals that you feel like you can actually accomplish.
They give you a sense of accomplishment. There is nothing better than checking something off your to-do list. Isn’t that the best feeling in the world? Small wins allow you to start checking things off that practice list plus you get all the feel-good, goose-bumpy feelings that go along with that!
They set you up for success. The biggest reason we don’t follow through with plans is because of all the obstacles that lie in our way. Big or small, these obstacles can create just enough resistance to give us an out. By knocking out some small wins, we start to tear down those walls of resistance.
They make you want to practice more. Once you get a taste of victory you want to come back for more. If you taste defeat, you want to stay far away. It’s a natural, instinctual response. We want to make our biology work for us instead of against us. By creating some small wins, our minds will start to crave more. That is how you build a strong practice routine.
How To Start Practicing Music
Step One: Plug-In Your Keyboard
If you have your instrument in a closet somewhere, you will never play it. You say you will, but you never will. Having it in a case or put away in a closet is just enough resistance to stop you from practicing. It gives you just enough room to start making excuses. And then you tell yourself “Tomorrow I will get it out and play.”
You and I both know tomorrow never comes.
Step one is to pull your instrument out of the closet. If it is electrical, plug it in. Put it in a place that is easily accessible. Put in near a window or some other cheery place in your home that will make you want to sit down and play.
Set yourself up for success by removing all obstacles. Keep your instrument out in the open. Keep it plugged in. Have the music stand set up with music already on it and the page open to your favorite piece. Have it all ready to go so when you walk by, it will be easy and fun to sit down and play.
Step Two: Set A Small Goal
After getting your instrument set up, set a small attainable next goal. Just learn how to hold your instrument. Or how to sit at the piano. Or just sing one note. Small. Simple. Easy.
On your first day of practice, sit down and do that one thing. Cross it off the list and go on with your day. You just got your first small win!
Step Three: Come Back The Next Day
This step is really important. After getting your first small win, you may still feel like not practicing. You may still feel overwhelmed. You may start to second guess your small win.
Was that even worth it? What did I really accomplish anyway?
All those voices in your head are just lies that you tell yourself to keep yourself down. We all have to battle those voices. The biggest obstacle to practice is getting the instrument out and plugged in. But a very close second is the lies that are rolling around in your head.
Our minds have been programmed with so much junk that when we try to do something good for ourselves, it will fight back in order to keep us comfortable. Even if comfortable has been miserable, it is still comfortable and your mind will seek comfort over discomfort any day.
You have to fight this by coming back on day two, setting a new small goal, and crushing it. Once you have two small wins under your belt, you will start to feel the momentum!
Step Four: Create A Schedule That You Love
With a couple of small wins under your belt, it’s time to really set yourself up for long-term success.
Set up a practice schedule that YOU love. Not what your parents told you to do, or your spouse says you should do, or what some musician friend told you once that they do. You need to find a practice routine that works best for you.
I like to practice first thing in the morning. I get up super early so I can start my day with music. But maybe you are a night owl and would prefer to practice before you go to bed. You get to choose when you practice.
Just pick out a small chunk of time every day and set it aside to start getting more and more of these small wins!
Step Five: Be Kind To Yourself
No one is perfect. You will miss some practices. You will be lazy somedays and watch Netflix instead of practicing. It’s ok. You are a human being.
Just remember why you wanted to learn music in the first place and get back to it the next day. Don’t forget how good it felt to get those first couple of small wins. Go back to that place in your mind and then go get another one!
The Struggle Is Real
We all struggle with practice. It never feels like there is enough time in a day to practice as much as we’d like. Or we always feel like we should be doing more.
Even the world’s greatest musicians will tell you they wished they practiced more.
But I have a secret for you - whatever you are doing is enough.
You don’t have to be like anyone else, you just have to be you. You need to play music for yourself first. Whatever that looks like can never be wrong.
Find a time that you enjoy playing and make that your sacred practice time. Focus on learning how to play the music you love. Get your instrument out of the closet and set it up. Work on your mindset and remind yourself daily of how important music is to you. Sit down, one day at a time, and start knocking out some small wins.
I guarantee those small wins will turn into big wins, but it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time. If you stop to celebrate those small wins along the way, the time will fly by and you will love every minute of it!
