The Significance of a Small Badge: Why Celebrating Small Wins Matters

 

I know today should be midweek prompt day, and I didn’t post last week because I was traveling and, planning and scheduling in advance is just some sort of alternate concept that sometimes I use, sometimes I don’t, but… Today I just want to tell you that, recently, I came to the realization that it's important to celebrate small victories. 

Now this might seem obvious to many of you, but for a long time, I overlooked these moments, always keeping my eyes fixed on what I considered to be the bigger goals. Like many others, I thought only large accomplishments deserved recognition. But now, my mind has shifted, and I understand that the small wins—those moments that seem utterly insignificant to others—are often what sustain us in the long run.

Take, for example, being awarded a tiny blue badge acknowledging that you’ve published a book. Just like the one I now have next to my name and looks so cute. On the surface, it’s just a digital marker—something that doesn’t attest to the quality of your writing, nor does it offer any guarantees about the future of your work. It doesn’t mean you’ve hit the bestseller list or that your book will ever gain wide recognition. So, for many, it might seem like a meaningless accolade. But is it?

For someone like me—an anonymous writer, plugging away without illusions of grandeur or popularity—this little badge is a little bit more than just a symbol. To me, it represents a moment of acknowledgment that made me feel seen and such, just in itself, was enough to bring me a moment of quiet pride. It felt like a small act of recognition of all the effort, the perseverance, and dedication that I put into my work. And that, my dearest ones, sometimes, is all we need just to keep moving forward. I don’t write to please the crowds. I don’t follow tips and advice on “How to write a book in 30 days or less”. In fact, though well intended as they may be, I even find those advice quite patronizing and misleading, because each one of us is different. We all have different voices. What works for some, might not work for others because writing doesn’t follow a pre-determined template of one size fits all. 

So, maybe it is silly, maybe it is not, but small wins matter. Particularly when we live in a world that tends to glorify major achievements— like publishing a bestseller, landing a movie deal, or gaining massive popularity— they are insidious, as they subtly tell you that if you don’t reach the “legendary status” then you are not successful. And so, it’s quite easy to forget the significance of smaller milestones. These tiny wins, however, are the steppingstones that get us closer to the larger ones, if we want to. 

As you all know, writing is always a solitary endeavor, filled with self-doubt and uncertainty. Many of us write in isolation, unsure if our words will ever reach the people we hope to touch. So, these small acknowledgments are a reminder that progress is happening, even when it feels slow or invisible. They offer us moments to pause, reflect, and say, " I’m doing something right."

In summary, that’s why today, I’m not posting a midweek prompt. Instead, I’m celebrating my small badge on Medium. It may not mean much to others, but to me, it’s a reminder that I’m moving forward. Because the journey is where the magic happens and, in the end, isn’t that what matters most?