A few years ago, I learnt to swim.
Not as a child, the way most people do but as a grown up. I didn’t find it that easy, but when my children realised I couldn’t swim, they naturally expected me to learn. So, I set myself a goal and through small steps, I did it.
The thing about setting a goal is sometimes you need someone watching.
Someone expecting you to show up, even on the days you don’t fancy making the splash.
My children didn’t know it but they were holding me accountable, every single lesson, simply by watching and expecting me to keep going.
Small Steps Count
Progress is a strange thing. Sometimes a small step feels like nothing; at other times, it feels like a huge leap. But small steps have a quiet kind of magic adding up to something far bigger than you ever expected, especially when you’ve got a goal in sight and someone looking on.
From the Pool to the Rapids
This summer we were lucky to have the opportunity to go white water rafting. If you’d told me a few years ago that I’d willingly get into a boat and head into fast-moving water, I wouldn’t have believed you!
But something helped, I had set myself a goal, made progress and to top it off I had a supportive skipper with us the whole time, there to guide me and pull me through if needed.
It made me think about business, careers and life. We all need people who watch out for us, guide us and help when we get stuck. The reality is that few of us navigate the choppy parts entirely alone and it can be difficult to stay committed to our goals without someone else involved.
We all need our own version of a skipper: the people who help set the goal with us, keep us accountable and pull us through when we feel out of our depth.
It also struck me how closely the experience mirrors what we have been doing at Successful Mums for the past 12 years.
You don’t go from “I can’t” to “I’ve conquered a rapid” in one go.
Nobody does. You get there one small, brave step at a time, with the right support around you.
A CV updated. An application submitted. An interview attended. A course started and completed. A new job secured.
That’s the role of the Successful Mums team. We help set the goal, break it into small, achievable steps then we check in, we follow up, we keep the momentum going – even on the days when she doesn’t quite believe in herself yet.
Just like my skipper in that boat, we are looking out to help her achieve her version of personal success.
Personal Success Rarely Looks Like a Straight Line
Personal success is rarely a neat before-and-after story. So much happens in between: the doubts, the setbacks, the small wins and the moments when somebody else’s encouragement helps you keep going.
Those steps may not always look impressive from the outside but every one of them counts.
Whatever Your Rapids Look Like
Whatever your version of “learning to swim” is right now, a career change, rebuilding your confidence or starting an entirely new chapter, the advice is the same. Set the goal. Break it into small steps. And find your skipper, someone to hold you accountable when the motivation alone isn’t enough.
That’s what we do at Successful Mums. We help you find your way through the rapids, one achievable step at a time.
And the new hat?
That’s optional. The small steps aren’t.