You make your bed. It takes thirty seconds. Nothing dramatic happens. The world doesn't change. But something shifts inside you—something small but significant.
That shift? It's the beginning of momentum. And understanding how it works can change how you approach every difficult day.
The Progress Principle
Researchers Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer spent years studying what makes people feel motivated and engaged. Their discovery, which they called "The Progress Principle," was surprisingly simple: of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work.
Here's the key insight: the progress doesn't have to be big. In fact, small wins often have a disproportionately positive effect on how we feel. Completing a tiny task can boost your mood and motivation more than you'd expect—creating a foundation for the next task, and the next.
Your Brain on Small Wins
When you complete a task—any task—your brain releases dopamine. This isn't just a "reward" chemical; it's a motivation chemical. Dopamine doesn't just make you feel good after an accomplishment; it primes you to seek more accomplishments.
This is why small wins are so powerful. Each tiny completion triggers a small dopamine release, which increases your motivation to tackle the next task. It's a positive feedback loop:
Small win → Dopamine → Increased motivation → Another small win → More dopamine...
The opposite is also true. When we set huge goals and fail to reach them, we experience the absence of this reward, which can actually decrease motivation. This is why "go big or go home" is such terrible advice for anyone struggling with mental health.
The Compound Effect
Small wins don't just add up—they multiply. Here's how:
1. They build self-efficacy. Each small win is evidence that you're capable of accomplishing things. Over time, this evidence accumulates into genuine belief in yourself.
2. They reduce overwhelm. When you break big tasks into small pieces and complete them one by one, the mountain you're facing suddenly looks more like a series of manageable hills.
3. They create forward motion. Objects in motion tend to stay in motion. Once you've completed one task, the transition to starting another becomes much easier.
4. They improve your mood. And when your mood improves, everything else becomes a little easier—creating even more momentum.
Designing for Small Wins
The trick isn't just to appreciate small wins when they happen—it's to design your life to generate them. Here's how:
Break everything down. "Clean the kitchen" becomes "wipe one counter." "Exercise" becomes "put on workout clothes." "Eat healthy" becomes "drink a glass of water." Make the bar so low you can't help but clear it.
Celebrate completion. Don't just check the box—take a moment to acknowledge what you did. This sounds cheesy, but it enhances the dopamine response and strengthens the habit loop.
Stack your wins. Put easy tasks at the beginning of your routine. Starting with quick wins builds momentum for the harder tasks ahead.
Track visibly. Seeing a list of completed tasks—even small ones—provides visual evidence of your progress. This reinforces the feeling of forward motion.
When Momentum Stalls
Some days, momentum won't come. You'll complete a small task and feel nothing. The next task will still feel impossible. The dopamine won't fire.
This is normal. This is especially normal if you're dealing with depression, which literally affects your brain's reward system.
On these days, the goal isn't momentum—it's survival. Do what you can. Rest when you need to. Know that the momentum will return, even if it doesn't feel that way right now.
"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out." — Robert Collier
And on the days when you can't make those efforts? That's okay too. Tomorrow is another day. Another chance for a small win. Another opportunity to build momentum.
Your First Win Today
If you've read this far, you've already completed something: finishing an article. That's a small win. Let yourself feel it.
Now, if you can, take that momentum and do one more small thing. Make a cup of tea. Step outside for sixty seconds of fresh air. Send a quick text to someone you care about.
Small wins are everywhere, waiting to be collected. All you have to do is notice them—and let them carry you forward.
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