Small Wins

Every time I fill up my car with gas I purchase a lotto ticket.  A small indulgence I allow myself every once and a while. I rarely ever won anything - the odd free ticket or $2.00 prize every few months.  

I’ve made a conscious decision to be excited - grateful for any amount I win.  Free ticket? Cool! I’ll take that universe.  $2.00?  Thank you! Since I started doing this, I’ve noticed the frequency and the amount of my wins have increased.  Small - subtle - more consistent.  More frequent $2.00, free play and $4.00 prizes. I even won $20.00.  What?!?!

You may be thinking - so what? What’s a free play?  What’s $2.00 or $4.00? Well, it’s something coming in.  Small gifts are still gifts.  They may seem small and inconsequential but they are a shift in thinking - of feeling.  

It isn’t just the big wins, the big gestures, often it’s the small ones - the consistent ones that matter, that are meaningful. This is no different. 

I’m convinced it’s these small shifts in perception - in thinking - that send unseen ripples into the world.  Not everything will be easy. Sometimes simple things like smiling or showing kindness take more effort or energy than we feel like we have or want to expend. By focussing on the small things … I feel like I’m building the bigger things. 

Being grateful for the small wins - is being grateful for wins.  It’s opening the door to more of what I want.  It’s saying I’m grateful, I’m open to receiving, I’m worthy.  Wins are wins. Period. 

It’s no different in any other aspect of our life - first sale, first job, first milestone … Those aren’t often big … but the momentum can be … The energy we feel - the excitement, joy - sends ripples into the world. 

I read somewhere that it's the same approach people take when paying bills.  Have a mortgage?  Property taxes? You have a home. That’s something. Sure there are times when you may wonder how everything will get paid … we’ve all been there (well - I have). That can feel overwhelming - stressful. I wish I’d tried reframing younger - I can think this through, I can prioritize payments, I have problems to solve that can be solved. 

Does that mean I’m reckless? Laughs. No. I’m not my Mother or my Sister. But I am a planner … I may not plan the way they do, or think the way they do. That’s ok, I’m not supposed to.  I have different goals, different dreams - those need different approaches, different thinking.  While I always knew that, sometimes we forget, or it gets buried under all the things. 

My path is different which means the lessons I needed, the mistakes I needed to make, the problem solving I needed to do … all necessary.  All mine. All a part of the journey.  

I appreciate playing the lotto isn’t for everyone and it’s not something I do in excess.  For me - it’s a small thing that reminds me of the importance of small things. 

It’s easy to forget the power that small things can have.  I like being reminded. Especially on the days when life gets tough … you forget how to pump gas, or drop all things, or nothing wants to work the way they are supposed to … then bam … a $2.00 gift lands in your lap and you’re reminded - you’ve got this. 

Don’t believe me?  Google “power of small things” and watch the laundry list of books, quotes, motivational speeches land on your screen.

Or … 

Pause. Think about how it felt when the person in front of you paid for your drink, someone complimented an outfit or hairstyle, someone let you go ahead of them in the queue at the grocer.  Unexpected - small - but you felt it.  It probably made you smile. Elevated your mood - ever so slightly.  

Small is underrated. 

I like underrated. 

So I will continue to be grateful for all my wins … no matter the size.