“One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats.” – Iris Murdoch
I learned this reflective practice from my meditation teacher, Deirdre: before stepping out of a space at the end of the day (the office, a studio, the kitchen), pause for a moment to think about what you did, who you saw, any breakthroughs (or breakdowns, for that matter) you had. It’s a chance to absorb the day before you turn out the lights and leave.
I’m not very consistent in remembering to do this practice. But when I do, I find that it helps me to savor the day as well as to honor the small steps that mark progress. It counterbalances my inclination to be focused on the next thing and helps to answer a question that I struggle with: when should we celebrate progress—only at the finish line, or all along the way?
In this episode of The Life of Try, I explore the power of small wins, tiny habits, and incremental progress. Drawing from a personal story about preparing my home for an Airbnb experiment during the World Cup in Seattle, I reflect on what it means to keep going when growth is messy, nonlinear, and full of setbacks.
I offer some insights from Director of Stanford’s Behavior Design Lab, BJ Fogg, PhD, plus the long-term philosophy of Toyota’s Kaizen culture, where small daily improvements add up over time, and the practical courage found in the checklist mindset associated with Captain Sullenberger.
This episode is about personal growth, habit formation, celebrating small victories, and learning to recognize that progress doesn’t have to be dramatic to matter.
Here are some takeaways:
- Why celebrating small wins can help you stay motivated even when progress feels slow or messy
- How BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits approach shows that tiny celebrations can reinforce lasting behavior change
- What Toyota’s Kaizen philosophy teaches about the long-term power of small, consistent improvements
- How checklists and small-step courage can help you keep going when you feel overwhelmed or stuck
- Why growth often looks nonlinear, and how to recognize progress before the final result arrives
- How honoring effort along the way can help you build resilience, confidence, and momentum
If you’ve ever felt stuck, overlooked your own progress, or wondered whether the little steps count, this episode will remind you that they do. Small wins matter. Tiny steps matter. And trying counts, even before the big outcome arrives.
Here are some other ways you can listen and watch this episode:
- The podcast player embedded below
- Click this link to watch in a browser: How to Celebrate the Try
- Subscribe to The Life of Try on Spotify, Amazon Music, or Apple Podcasts
- Subscribing to the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thelifeoftry
How to Celebrate the Try – The Life of Try: Personal growth, one try at a time.
- How to Celebrate the Try
- How to Reclaim Fun in Adult Life; Michael Rucker, PhD on Joy, Burnout, and The Fun Habit
- Reinvention, Resilience and The Courage to Try| Lindsey Goldstein on Gap Year
- 51: Letting Go of Outcomes: The Mindset That Keeps You Moving
- 50: How to Write the Book You've Been Meaning to Write | Dr. Victoria Atkinson (Slivers)
Links for this episode:
Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg, PhD on Amazon
The Tiny Habits Toolkit from BJ Fogg, PhD
How I recovered from a bout of anxiety-induced paralysis by Dan Harris
Other Episodes you Might Enjoy:
➡️ Letting Go Of Outcomes: The Mindset That Keeps You Moving
➡️ 48: How to Get Unstuck: Michael Yang on Saying Yes, Resilience and Coming Alive
➡️ How to Reclaim Fun in Adult Life | Mike Rucker, PhD, on Joy, Burnout and the Fun Habit
(featured photo from Pexels)
Surprised By Joy 
Yes! I hope we always celebrate small wins quietly. Interesting topic, Wynne.
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Will come back to this…for some reason it won’t open…tech is great until it doesn’t work
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Excellent take aways Wynne, well done!
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