Unlocking Success: Celebrating Small Wins for Motivation and Morale”
What small wins have you had recently?
Maybe you achieved a new level on a video game, nailed your jump shot, helped a friend in need, or improved your grade — even just a little bit — in a class you’ve been struggling in.
How often do you take stock of tiny achievements like these? Source: The New York Times, The Learning Network. Natalie Proulx
- Objective: To help students recognize and celebrate their small achievements, fostering a positive mindset and motivation.
- Materials: Access to the article “What Small Wins Have You Had Recently?” for reference, writing materials, and a ‘victory log’ template for students to record their accomplishments.
Hook:
- Start with a fun, quick activity. Have students write down 3 things they accomplished that morning (e.g., made their bed on time, finished their breakfast, helped a sibling). Briefly discuss as a class.
- Activities:
- Discussion: Start with a class discussion on the importance of acknowledging small successes and how they contribute to larger goals.
- Reflection: Have students read the article and reflect on their recent small wins, jotting them down in their victory logs.
- Sharing: Encourage students to share their victories with the class, highlighting the diversity of achievements and the shared experience of progress.
Read the article and answer these questions:
-
What did you learn? What, if anything, surprised you? Is “tallying your tiny wins” a strategy you could see yourself using in your day-to-day life? Why or why not?
-
What are some small victories that you’ve had recently? Maybe they’re related to a sport you play, school, your friendships or just life in general. What have you succeeded at lately?
-
How does taking stock of these achievements make you feel? Does it make you realize that you’re further along on something than you thought? Does it motivate you to keep going on a project? Does it make you feel better about yourself overall? Something else?
-
Dr. Fogg, one of the experts interviewed for this article, found in his research that people had many ways to say “I did a bad job,” and very few ways of saying “I did a good job.” Is that true of you? Do you tend to focus more on the ways you’ve failed than the ways you’ve succeeded? How do you think that affects you?
-
What other strategies do you use to motivate or lift yourself up when you’re feeling down, defeated or overwhelmed? How do they help you? Do you think they could help others?
