We all crave success. It’s instinctive. We want to work our way up the ladder of life — get a good education, have a great career, raise a strong family. This desire — to want to achieve great things — is extra strong at the gym. We want to lift a certain amount of weight, RX the workout and be the first to finish. It’s easy to only allow ourselves to celebrate when we reach an incredible goal like a muscle-up, double-under or a rope climb. Learning to celebrate the “little wins,” however, is also important. 

What do these small wins look like? They could look like… 

-Getting comfortable being upside down and just holding a hand-stand

-Gaining enough mobility to do a kipping swing on the pull-up bar

-Running 100 meters without stopping

-Finishing a workout 

-Remembering what gym acronyms like “EMOM” and “AMRAP” mean! 

All of the above might sound like little things, but these are the benchmarks that get us to our big goals. Before you can get the double under, you must master the single. Before the muscle-up comes the pull-up and before the sprint comes the slow jog. 

Take a moment now and write down those massive goals you can’t stop thinking about. Maybe it’s to run a 5K, but right now you can’t run 400 meters without feeling exhausted. Instead of thinking about the 5K, focus on 400 meters. Once you can run 400, shoot for 800. Then a mile. Eventually, you’ll be crossing the finish line at the 5K and wondering “how did I do it?” The answer is small goals. Small goals consistently met turn into big goals achieved. They may take weeks, maybe months, or even years to achieve. No matter how big the goal is, however, it can be met with dedication and consistency. 

Now go get after it!