We just kicked off our October swing/snatch challenge and when I asked how many swings people did, a couple of clients gave me a “yeah, but…” answer when I congratulated them on a job well done.

“Yeah, but…I was using a light kettlebell.  “Yeah, but…I didn’t do as many as I should have done.”

The only thing you accomplish when you “yeah, but…” is squashing what you just accomplished. You’re basically telling yourself that your accomplishment didn’t matter, it wasn’t good enough or some similar and destructive thought.

Leave your yeah, but’s in the woods where they belong!

Instead, allow yourself to have victories, no matter their size.

You all know the jokes about how size matters and I always joke about that when it comes to the size of the kettlebell. Well, size does matter when it comes to your victories and your goals.

BUT when it comes to celebrating your victories, smaller is always better.

Small goals and celebrating small victories is exactly how I lost over 40 pounds and it’s how I’ve grown with my kettlebell and fitness skills.

I’m as impatient as anyone when it comes to getting what I want. But when it comes to health and fitness, I always have bigger successes when I’ve allowed myself to celebrate and revel in the smaller ones.

It’s like a really good snowball effect. It starts with a small goal and a small victory of that goal and then you just build on it with each new small goal until it gets bigger and bigger.

You can take a look at your big goal and break it down into a very small chunk, then build on it slowly each time you reach that smaller goal. Or you can start with one small goal and build on it as you go.

No matter how you tackle it, just keep focused on the small victories and celebrate each one as they come to you.  Take some time to sit with that victory and revel in it and then move on to your next one.

Which do you think will be more motivating and encouraging? “Yeah, but I should have done more”  OR “Yeah, I did more than my last attempt!”

The more small victories you allow yourself to have, the closer you’ll get to the bigger success you want.

No more yeah, but’s!  Keep them in the woods where they belong.

What do we mean by “yeah, but’s belong in the woods?” When we had this conversation in class one of the members told us her mother always said “yeah but’s belong in the woods.” Huh? If you say “yeah, but” fast enough, it sounds similar to rabbit and rabbits (yeah, but’s) belong in the woods.