Celebrating Small Victories

Written by Cheryl on . Posted in Cheryl's View.

Ahh, small victories! They might not seem like much, and far too often we shrug them off as no big deal. Sometimes even simply getting out of bed in the morning is a victory. But is it worth celebrating?

Even before my husband and I moved from Denver to a small town in Missouri, I joined a local writers group and enjoyed vibrant email exchanges with the group leader. But after we arrived, I just couldn’t bring myself to attend the monthly meetings, and kept finding excuses why I couldn’t attend.

I was unpacking, I was too busy, I was exhausted, I had to do the laundry, walk the dogs, etc. Any excuse would suffice. It took 4 months before I finally put on my big girl pants and drove the 3 short minutes to the coffee shop downtown where the meetings are held.

It’s no surprise that I’m an extrovert. However, I am incredibly uncomfortable walking into a roomful of perfect strangers. Go figure.

Gritting my teeth and pasting a big smile on my face, I entered the coffee shop, found a seat, and tried to make small talk with the people around me. Once the meeting started, the facilitator asked what everyone had written since the previous month’s meeting. All eyes swiveled in my direction. Nervously, I looked around the table. Clearly they were waiting for me to say something.

I hadn’t written a thing. Except multiple to-do lists along with dozens of checks. Everyone was still looking at me, patiently waiting for me to speak. I had nothing. Zip. Nada. Zilch. Finally, a lightbulb went off in my head and I blurted out, “I wrote a grocery list!” I meant it as a joke, but nobody laughed. Everyone stopped looking at me and looked at the facilitator who said, “Well, that is an accomplishment!” And then moved on to the person next to me.

A few days later, an email landed in my inbox with an extensive review of what was covered during the meeting. It included the following:

Celebrations:

    • Ann published a monthly planner which is available on Amazon. It was made more for herself, but she published it for others who may find use in it as well.
    • Cheryl wrote a grocery list, which we’re totally going to celebrate, because even that is an accomplishment after a big move and writers’ block.
At first I laughed. Then I realized that the facilitator had a point. That grocery list was indeed something to celebrate, along with the fact that I finally got out of my comfort zone and went to a meeting, even though I got lost on the way home.
We need to recognize and celebrate all of our victories, no matter how small they might seem. One small step leads to another, and another, and another. Until maybe, just maybe, that simple little grocery list becomes the foundation for a published cookbook.
And that would certainly be something to celebrate. I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, here is to a happy, healthy, prosperous, and celebratory 2026!

a writer's life, accomplishments, celebrate, excuses, no excuses, small victories, small wins, storytelling