Insights on business,
life, and leadership —
right in your inbox!

Victory Begets Victory

December 26, 2017

It’s hard to deny the invisible power of momentum.

Have you watched a sporting event lately? In almost every game, there is a defining moment for the winning team. They block the kick. They make the three-point shot before the half. They hit the grand slam and score four runs at once. And after that moment, it feels like everything else goes their way.

Isn’t the same true in our personal and professional lives? Winning fuels our confidence and helps us succeed in other areas. Victory begets victory. A retired marine used these three words to explain to me that a small win on the battlefield serves as a catalyst to fuel the momentum necessary to win many more victories.

The point of this post is not to say that winning is the only way to learn, grow, and succeed. As I look back on this last year and look forward to the next, there are many lessons learned from areas in which I’ve failed. Our company, ADDO, creates leadership programs for companies and organizations. When we develop programs for students or young professionals, we engineer opportunities for students to overcome obstacles and be forced to persevere. I am a firm believer that failure is a great teacher.

However, when we focus on failure, we sometimes forget to find areas where we’re seeing success. In many ways, winning creates a chain reaction that leads to more victories, and in turn, fuels the momentum that propels us (and the people we lead) to even greater success.

Victory begets victory.

As we come to the start of a new year, I want to encourage you to find opportunities to experience victory. Look for the “wins” in both your personal and professional life. Find an opportunity where you see success, even in the smallest areas. And build off those small victories to fuel future success.

Try this—instead of setting unrealistic resolutions and unsustainable goals, create small goals you know you can achieve. Then, leverage success in those areas to create momentum to move on to bigger challenges.

Instead of trying to read a book a week this year, set the goal of reading a book a month. Finish the book early? Go ahead and start another.

As you seek to live a healthier lifestyle, set the goal of jogging a few days a week before you sign up for the marathon.

When you meet with your team in January, celebrate a victory from this last year, and use this as a rallying point before you embark on your next project.

At the start of the new semester, fuel momentum in your students by setting attainable goals for them at the beginning of this new grading period.

There’s something gratifying about reaching a goal. When we accomplish something, we feel better about ourselves and are inspired to tackle the next challenge. Find a way to apply this psychological principle and let it catapult you to even greater heights in the upcoming year.

Remember, victory begets victory.

Signature

Insights on business,
life, and leadership —
right in your inbox!