Grit, Gratitude, & Grace Newsletter

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1 Insight From Me

April 2024. Florena was in her third month of cancer treatment. I'd been unemployed for two months. We were $30,000 in debt.

I had a job interview scheduled for 3 PM.

The night before, I spiraled. Thoughts raced: "You won't get this job. You're not qualified. You're still unemployed because you're not good enough. Your wife is suffering and you're failing her."

The next morning, I did something simple: I showed up.

That's it. I woke up. I showered. I drank water. I made Florena her smoothie. I reviewed my notes for the interview. I drove to the interview. I interviewed.

I didn't get that job.

But I celebrated the small win anyway: I showed up when everything inside me wanted to quit.

That's when I learned something crucial about hard seasons:

Large wins are meaningless if you don't celebrate the small ones that got you there.

In normal times, a job interview you don't win isn't a win at all. But in 2024, showing up to an interview while caregiving for your wife through cancer—that was a victory.

Making one nutritious smoothie wasn't impressive in January 2024. But in April, when your wife was nauseous from chemo and you researched ingredients she could tolerate and made her something she could actually eat—that was a massive win.

Getting out of bed. Taking a shower. Sending three job applications. Having one honest conversation with Florena about how scared I was. Asking for help. Reading one Psalm. These weren't "real" wins.

But they were. Because in crisis, survival is success.

The size of the win doesn't matter. Celebrating it does.

Here's why: Celebrating small wins tells your brain "You're making progress. You're capable. You're doing this." And that belief compounds. One small win becomes the foundation for the next one.

By December 2024, I'd landed a job—but it wasn't because of one big impressive accomplishment. It was because of months of small wins that built the resilience, the humility, and the courage to walk into that final interview and be genuinely, vulnerably me.

2 Quotes

"Success is a collection of small efforts made day in and day out." - Michele Nevarez

II.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" - Philippians 4:4 (NIV)

1 Challenge

The Small Wins Journal

This week, write down 5 small wins—things you did that moved you forward, even slightly.

They don't have to be impressive:

Got out of bed when depressed
Made a hard phone call
Showed up scared
Said no to something that doesn't serve you
Took one small action toward a goal

Then read them. Really read them. Because you did those things. You were brave enough to do them. And that matters.

Remember: Feed your mind. Fuel your actions. Find your fire. 🔥

Want more frameworks like this? My book Mindset Metamorphosis includes the complete system for identifying and celebrating progress during seasons when traditional "success" feels impossible.