By Terry Allen
The ancestral playbook Lucille “Big Mama” Allen left for us ALWAYS worked for everyone who received her message. Her message was about creating successful outcomes working very little. Her inside message was “stay focused”!
Successful people generally celebrate their victories after every success they achieve in their daily lives. Sometimes, the victory is small, sometimes it is big. We generally celebrate the easy wins we call victories, but overlook the bigger battle to our disadvantage.
Big Mama’s wisdom taught me that it is very beneficial to celebrate small victories, as your mood will be much better, you will be more productive, and you will be motivated while postponing or losing sight of the bigger battle.
Big Mama said everybody needs to take the time to celebrate small wins. She said it makes you feel accomplished. Our existing platforms, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook consistently show us we know how to share your small victories. Yet the likes and shares diminish when we post the bigger battle.
Winning small victories are joyous yet documenting battles are not but they both contribute to growth.
Every person has a battle they’re always fighting, whether we’re aware of them or not. For this reason, you should never judge someone for what they do or how they act, because you can’t really know their secret battles. There are times when we face light challenges and we easily overcome them. We celebrate, and we enjoy that victory. But what happens when the battles we are fighting are bigger than we are and we feel like quitting? The only thing you can do is to hold on until you come out the other end when you win the hardest battle. Big Mama said that is when God is the footprint you see carrying you through the battle.
Currently, the activists inspired by George Floyd are celebrating victories like corporate donations, creation of DEI C-suite jobs and increased fundraising. Yet the activists of Emmett Till have seen the small victories like the creation of affirmative action C-suite jobs and access to equal education while the winning battle rewarded us with battle victories like voting rights and civil rights acts!
Now the rewards of the Battle are being dismantled. The battles won are being disrupted as the current activists are too busy celebrating the small victories with topical social media focus that do not seem to have any infrastructural depth or permanence.
We need to restore the battle with grounded victories in voting, economic development and historical redress.
Although the battle is hard and exhausting, know that the larger battle will bring greater victory and reward. The battle victory will be sweeter than any victory you have ever had!
In the words of Les Brown, “The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory.” Email me at the paper, terryallenpr@gmail.com if you are not sure how to tell a battle win from a small victory.
Terry Allen is an award-winning media professional, journalist, and entrepreneur. He is also the founder of City Men Cook and 1016 Media. Reach him at terryalllenpr@gmail.com
