How to Celebrate the Little Things

Chasing a passion is like starting at the bottom of the ladder and climbing your way up. Sounds easy, right? A rung there, and rung there, a viola, you’re at the top. As all fellow dreamers would agree, that is definitely not the case. If you added 20-pound weights to each arm, put some oil on the rungs, and some lava at the bottom, you start getting the idea. You can’t forget that Scar is ready to knock you down a peg while uttering "Long live the king," every chance he gets... That was such a sad scene, wasn’t it? It will forever bring a tear to my eye.

Anyhoo, the point I’m trying to get at is that it’s hard. Grinding through the stages of building your brand and yourself will eat you alive if you let it. So how can we make it easier?

Surviving in the World Tip #5—Celebrate the Small Things.

Compare Yourself to... Yourself

When we do something, we dream of being at the top, shining bright like a diamond. Though this does help with motivation, if you genuinely love the dream you are chasing, you can envision happiness even at the bottom of the ladder because that's will you'll be (unless you have some unlikely advantage). Chances are, you have to start as a small fish in a small pond and grow from there... Y'know, so you can become a slightly bigger fish in a pond that's growing faster than you.

Some of us are big fish and some small, some of us are yellow and bright, while others are blue and sneaky. There are so many different facets of the personality and character that cultivate a countless number of ways to live. Just because you like what someone else is doing, doesn’t mean you have to be doing it too! Do what works for you and build from that.

If you are doing something similar to someone else, you have to remember three things:

1. You both probably started at different times in the race. Just because someone has mastered a technique, doesn’t mean you should beat yourself up for not learning that same thing.
2. We all learn differently and at different speeds. Sometimes we start at the same time as others and are still behind. As much as this may stink, remember that slow and steady wins the race. Who knows, maybe you’ll be able to find a different route and develop something all on your own.
3. You must remember to be unique. Once you compare yourself to others, you start losing your originality. It is this asset in which you will begin to make a name for yourself. No one can define you better than you. Though some can be louder about it, and maybe even more accurate at times, you are the one that ultimately steers the ship. You are the Titanic… Okay, that was a lousy comparison… I can spin that. Hmmm… Ooh I got it!

You are the Titanic in an alternate universe, and you were able to steer away from the ice burg because you were yourself! And that, readers, is the only way to steer away from the icebergs in life. I guess the real Titanic had no personality.

Know When to Make the Comparisons

Now that we know what to compare ourselves to, the question is, how often should we make the comparisons? That is entirely up to you. Ultimately, it will be whatever makes you feel at your most confident.

You will find that sometimes it is best to do the comparing on a short-run basis, while other times it needs to be on the long run. When you are starting off, you only have one choice.

When you feel like you are starting to stagnate, this is when the going gets tough, and you have to be a tougher cookie. The smaller you can make the comparisons, the better off you will be.

I started off on this site not so long ago. Yes, I want to have readers by the hundreds for each of my posts, but that’s not something that is going to happen any time soon.

For instance, I currently surpassed the 10 readers as a collective on all my posts. This may not sound a lot, but it was enough for me to pop the cork. Well, figuratively anyway.

Then I celebrated at 20. Now that I'm starting to get a little roll going, my next goal is 50. Once I get there, I will make my own judgement as to what I feel will be both rewarding and achievable.

Then, out of nowhere, I received a tip for the first time, and I was ready to throw a statewide celebration at that point. The reason that following your dreams is important is because it's a lot easier to be happy about your success. And thus one of my next articles will be fighting the belief that '"ollowing your passions," just doesn't work anymore. I have a real quarrel with that. On guard, society! My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my passion, prepare to die! For the few that get this reference, I hope you appreciated it.

Party!!!

Lastly, you have to party with every single goal! Treat yo self!

Alright, maybe we should only save the parties for the significant accomplishments, but that doesn’t mean you can’t feel good about yourself when you achieve on a small scale. I literally looked like this Gif of Patrick when I received my first tip on this site.

Your goals have to mean something to you, and if you think too big, then you will miss out on the journey you have to take to get there. Turn up your music and sing, lock the door and dance, vandalize town hall out of excitement!!

Nope... No… No, don’t do that. That is a terrible idea and will hinder your progress. Try to stick to the simple acts of celebration like streaking down the main street of your city… I’m sorry, that was another bad suggestion. I’m sure you can figure it out though, good luck!!!