Small Victories Lead To Big Wins

by PadreAug 18, 2021

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Small Victories

Sometimes in life, you have to take the small victories and run with them. I actually believe the small victories are more important than the large ones. I have not made it a secret that this year has been a rough year for me here on the farm. This year, I have taken some pretty big hits between crop loss due to the weather and livestock loss due to theft—both to my morale and to my wallet.

I have been trying to get back on my feet, which has landed me looking to go back to a 9-5. I won’t rehash any of that, but I was very much feeling like a failure. Like I had failed myself and like I had failed my family. It has put me in a challenging situation where I’m forced to find a job at home due to homeschooling the kids.

Homeschooling was always the plan but back when the plan was made; I was in a different place in my life. I have seen a big turnaround, though in my luck just the past few days. I have made a little money from my farm and a little from the book I released last month. We are also moving into the busy time of year for my soap and candle company. Something about September and pumpkin spice, the people go crazy for it.

Small Win

But back to me and my little victory. Just three weeks ago, I was sitting here literally without any way to pay all of my bills, beyond stressed and even depressed. My usually well-stocked pantry was beginning to look pretty sad, and I was not having luck finding any work. The pantry depends a lot on the crops I grow, and as stated before. This spring was a complete loss. Six feet of rain will do that to you.

Here I am sitting writing this. I honestly still cannot pay all of my bills, but I’m not on the verge of losing my farm like I was just two weeks ago. Do not get me wrong; it is still a genuine possibility, but I’m no longer days away from eviction.

I’m counting that as a small win. I’m using this little fact as a way to pull myself out of this depression that I had fallen into of late. I went and bought groceries yesterday, so the pantry is not looking quite so sad now. It still is not the foods my kids want or that I want to eat, but hey, our stomachs are full.

Quiting Is not A Option

I am not putting any of this out there for sympathy. I am telling you all now because one thing I have always been proud of is when you, my followers. Tell me that one of the reasons you follow me is because I am real, and I don’t hide my struggles.

And a struggle it has been. There are not any words I can give any of you that may be in something similar at the moment that will make you feel better. I can give you advice, though. No matter how hard it gets, no matter how hopeless it seems, you cannot quit what you are doing.

You only lose when you quit, and eventually, just like it has happened for me, there will be a small victory. The small victory, when embraced, can stop the plummet into the darkness. It can lift your chin a little when all you want to do is hang it. It can motivate you to work a little harder.

Why do I believe the small victories are better than the big victories? Because without the small ones, there can never be the large ones. Without the small victories, there is nowhere to go but down. The small victories are what you build yourself on and what lifts up your success.