"Success consists of a series of little daily victories."— Laddie Hutar
...or maybe success consists of daily survival. That old adage keeps ringing in my head: "80% of the struggle is just showing up."
It's been a tough week with the unit closure, surrounding public relations storm (whenever we have a lay off or closure, everyone immediately jumps to the conclusion that the hospitals are for sale), and staff grieving this change. Plus, ya know, everything else keeps moving along!
My cousin, Yoshi, shared some great wisdom about these small steps, whether they be positive or negative. Basically, few people get where they are because of the "big" decisions. It's usually a series of little decisions that pile up and lead us to "how did I get here?" because "here" is a place you would have obviously said no to had it been one decision. The idea that no one sets out to be a drug addict, but a series of little decisions puts the needle in your veins. Of course, it can work the other way, too, with a bunch of small decisions lead people to success, God, happiness, etc. It's not usually one huge jump of the cliff leap kind of thing. If it were, no one would do it because the hardships involved in it aren't really all that appealing.
So if you make one or two iffy decisions, you're not throwing yourself off the bridge of happiness, there is still time to straighten your course and shape up. But happiness, peace, and success all emerge from a life of small decisions.
It's similar to weight loss. Weight loss takes conviction, commitment, and time...lots of little decisions to eat better or exercise more add up to the weight loss. One Snickers bar isn't going to throw you off the wagon forever, but a Snickers bar every day could.
Our habits make us who we are...those little actions add up and tip the scales positively or negatively. How are your actions adding up?
I just wanted to say that I saw an episode of Hoarders a while back and the extreme-cleaning guy said, "I guess we're all just a few bad decisions away from sh***ing in a bucket." Sorry for adding vulgarity to your post, but sometimes offensive language gets the point across more effectively.
ReplyDeleteMy daily poor decisions have created a 'heavy' problem for me. But the many little steps between when I was 14 and now have lead me to nursing. That being said, the decision to get off my computer will provide me more time to study. :) And once I'm all done with school, I can devote more time and energy to putting down the snickers bar.
There's nothing wrong with survival mode; sometimes, it's necessary. That's what I tell myself when I have M&M's and a Diet Coke for lunch (followed by SunChips at 3pm!)
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