Small Wins, Gentle Resets & Finding Your Ikigai

When life gets overwhelming, it’s easy to believe progress only counts if it’s perfect. In this episode, I share a personal reset from a tired, overbooked week and the mindset shift that helped me stop spiraling and start moving again.

We explore the power of small wins, why five to ten minutes a day can protect your momentum, and how mindfulness, breath, and gentle movement can help you feel calmer, clearer, and more focused. We also reflect on Ikigai — the Japanese philosophy of purpose — and the quiet truth that your value doesn’t have to be huge to matter.

The episode closes with a guided forest-at-dawn meditation to help you reconnect with what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs, and what gives your life meaning.

What’s one small win you can do today?

Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched!
Start for FREE

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Transcript

Welcome And A New Premise

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello everybody, I'm your host, the Gentle Yoga Warrior, and welcome to this special edition of my podcast. I was scheduled to have a wonderful guest on the show. That didn't happen this week, but we have some wonderful guests lined up for the future. I was up quite late for myself last night because I'm not really much of a night owl, and I came up with the premise of today's podcast, and I think you're gonna like it a lot. I'm hopeful that you can relate as well to this specific problem. You know, when one has like these desires and dreams and things, or even just things that we want to kind of learn and uh to help better ourselves in a way that makes us feel like we're growing and we've got momentum in the flux and flow of life. Well, I've got a few ideas about stuff that I really really want to do, and it has been a great lesson in being present and also a great lesson in calmness because there's been so much going on recently that it's been very, very hard for me to find the time to do these things, and when I have had the time, I've been so tired after such a long day that my concentration isn't able to give the things I love the full attention, and I kind of was feeling a bit frustrated by it, so maybe you can relate to this in some way and something that's happening in your life, and now I'd like to share because I've got an explanation of how I think one can navigate through that. And a friend of mine actually reminded me of this as well. Is about well, two friends reminded me about some things which really helped, and one one is one is celebrating the small wins, and right, maybe I can't do the full timetable of what I wish to achieve, and in that timetable, there is wellness and self-care as well, because I think that's equally important. But a friend of mine was reminded me through a conversation of how never underestimate the power of the of small wins, and because I couldn't fully do what I needed to do the last few weeks, and I'm tired as well. Instead of like just putting extra extra pressure, I found that if I do a bit towards my dreams and goals each day, then it kind of helps that momentum going. So if that maybe there's something that you're trying to do, and then there's problems as we're all squeezed at the moment with all the problems that are going on. Perhaps it's you'll find

Small Wins When Life Is Packed

SPEAKER_00 2:56

it hard to get the stuff done that you want to do towards your dreams. I suggest that and times where you don't have the time to dedicate five to ten minutes a day, so maybe that can be like on your commuter journey when you're on the on the train, or you get a tea break at work, and then you can go and sit somewhere quietly, even if you have to sit in your car somewhere quietly, where you can kind of work on that, and instead of feeling like overwhelmed and thinking, Oh gosh, I really don't have the time to do all these things, try and do these little stitches of 10 minutes a day, and then they will add up to what you're trying to achieve. And I really kind of went into this because I was then feeling like I found it really hard to concentrate, I was tired, etc. So I got up this morning, I did an extra long yoga practice, and you're probably thinking, well, wouldn't that give you less time? Yes and no, because now my energy levels feel really kind of elevated and calm, and I feel like I can achieve more and less um reactive. I had it, I was having another conversation with a dear friend, and we were talking about as we get older, etc., and what makes a difference between someone being happy and unhappy, and I was reminded of that Japanese philosophy system, which is ikigai, which is a reason for being the intersection of what you love, what you're good at, and what the world needs, and what you can be valued for. So thinking about this because I thought actually, you know what, we've all got this amazing value, and it's a it's a it's a difficult dance, isn't it, between the way we're trying to kind of make money to just kind of keep our heads above water these days, and then there's the feeling of value, and there's the the idea that

Yoga For Energy And Focus

SPEAKER_00 5:04

as we get older we're not valued so much by society and other people, and how to navigate through that. I'm definitely not a senior yet, but even as I as I've got a bit older, I've realized kind of like the attitude and how things have changed, and I just thought I can even kind of just dwell

Ikigai And Feeling Valuable

SPEAKER_00 5:22

in that or I can just do stuff for myself, know and offer value to wonderful people like you, dear listeners, and and and in turn help inspire. So we all have something I'm sure that we love, and even if it might not be completely apparent at this moment, can you look inside and find that thing that you love? And maybe it's the same thing that you're good at, maybe it's not. Maybe there's a gap between what you love and what you're good at, and can you use this system of five-10 minutes a day to bridge that gap? Think what does the world really need? Like, the world definitely doesn't need more kind of like fake people, but perhaps the world needs more authentic people of wisdom. And and what what is the value? What is your amazing value? You know, there was a guy that used to live in that town, and um, he was so happy and so smiley, and everyone knew him, and he was so he brought so much love and light to everyone. He was just acquainted, but he always used to say hello, and unfortunately, he passed, but his value was that every time someone walked past him, he would say hello, and he would just lift everyone's spirit. So, I use as an example to let you know that there is so much value that we have that maybe we don't always realize, but it doesn't have to be great big vast things, equally, you don't have to retract yourself either. If there's any ways that you tap into how you feel of value to the world and and how people inspire you and how you inspire others, do let me know. Meditation time. Top tips for the meditation is either sit nice and cross-legged on the floor with a nice straight back. Always nice to sit on a block or a cushion, or that's not available for you. You sit in a chair with the back nice and straight. The important thing is you're not slouching. And if you're doing something that requires concentration, all you need to do is just pause this and you can reconvene the meditation at a time that is good for you. If you're doing the meditation, that's beginning. So it is forest and it is dawn, and you are sat in this imaginary forest as the first rays of light shine through and hit the ground. It can be whatever season you feel is nice for you. Whatever season is, the beauty of this sun illuminates your being, and you feel held by Gaia, Mother Nature, the universe, the world,

Guided Forest Dawn Meditation

SPEAKER_00 8:25

God, whatever it feels like for you. And as you sit here in this imaginary forest, a place that I often bring you to in meditations, for it is a place of expansiveness but relaxation. Can you just simply be allowing the breath to form in a way that is calming and not stressed? And as you sit here breathing calmly, feeling this imaginary forest as it holds your being, just feel for a moment what is it that you love? What are you good at? First words that pop into your head.

SPEAKER_01 9:29

What do you think the world needs? How can you add that value to the world?

SPEAKER_00 9:54

Just allow those one-word answers to come into your head for now. What you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and how you can add that value. And as you look in this imaginary forest, what is the one thing of value that you take from this serene and beautiful setting? And allow that vision to come softly into your heart. This imaginary forest in all its beauty and glory. As you slowly come back into the moment, come back into the room, knowing that you are a reason for being.