"Decide the Type of Person You Want to Be. Prove It to Yourself With Small Wins" (or, How to Get Your Sh*t Together, One Tiny Victory at a Time)

The quote above is James Clear, the interpretation is allllll mine!

Life goals. Those ephemeral, glittery baubles of hope that shimmer enticingly like a dozen Tinkerbells beckoning you towards glory but which always seem about half a bottle of wine, two panic attacks, and a mental breakdown away. In actuality, if we weren't so busy doom-scrolling and stress-eating biscuits, we could be so much more.

I think Mr Clear's point here, however, is whether you’re trying to be a better person, a braver artist, or just someone who doesn’t hoard empty gin bottles (only because some fucker drank the contents and THEN decided to donate... err, yes, I did write that out loud), like a magpie with a sparkly bottle recycling problem (guilty), the trick is not in the grand, sweeping gestures. It’s in the little wins. The sneaky, almost boring, everyday victories that nudge you closer to the kind of person you’re trying to become.

The Creative Process: An absolute fuck up from start to finish (But Make It Art)

Creativity is a lot like trying to assemble IKEA furniture without the instructions—chaotic, occasionally infuriating, but surprisingly rewarding when it all comes together (partly because the instructions are in bloody Swedish, so you're making do with crappy little pictures). And for those of us in the arts, it’s not just about creating; it’s about being creative. And let me tell you, that’s a much taller order on days when the biggest thing you’ve created is another Pinterest board with 2,000 pins and some VERY questionable life choices.

This is where the small wins come in (honest). You don’t have to wake up tomorrow and become Picasso, or in my case, create the Mona Lisa of fused glass wall panels (although now I'm thinking about it...). Instead, start by proving to yourself that you can.

Got 15 minutes? Sketch a quick design. Cut some glass. Upcycle a bottle into something vaguely functional. Even if it looks like something a toddler made at playgroup (which my shit frequently resembles), it’s a win. Why? Because you did the thing. You got off your metaphorical (or literal) arse and got started.

Overcoming Challenges: Perfection Is for Bellends

Let us just take a moment there to fully appreciate the insult that is 'bellend'. If you are, like I am, a fully fledged G&Diva; love Jordan and William and binge frequently on "Help! I Sexted My Boss", then you will agree with Jordan and I that 'bellend' is by far and away the best insult, but I digress...

Back to our inspirational blog.

Let us address our inner critics - that judgy little bellend sat in a corner of your mind who loves to remind you of every single time you’ve failed and not only that label it a 'spectacular fail'. You know the one. It’s like having your own troll, squawking about how your last bowl looked more like a malformed pancake than fine art (in my case having a slightly larger than small point).

Here’s the secret: no one hits perfect the first time (unless you're Chris Hemsworth being born). Or the fiftieth. Or sometimes the five hundredth. But every time you try, you’re chipping away at the mountain of “I can’t” and building the foundation of “Actually, fuck this shit, I'm doing it anyway.” Yes, I know you're mightily impressed with my inspirational bullshit - next week, I'm going to trot out the fucking sound bowls to really give you something to think about.

For me, this looks like leaning into the process... no it doesn't... I don't lean into anything. Well, not in the right direction anyway. "Lean AWAY from the mountain," screams my ski instructor, the mad twat. But sometimes that means taking a hammer to a failed piece and calling it “artistic deconstruction.” Sometimes it’s repurposing the shards into jewellery. And sometimes, it’s just having a glass of something pink and fizzy, muttering “I’ll deal with it tomorrow,” and chalking it up as a character-building moment.

The Big Picture: You Are Your Wins

The beauty of small wins is that they add up. Every time you show up for yourself—whether it’s creating something, learning a new skill, or just proving that you’re not a total bellend —you’re becoming the kind of person you want to be. Someone who doesn’t quit. Someone who tries, fails, learns, and tries again. Someone who creates, despite the chaos, life, parents, cats, kids, work, that fuckwit next door that keeps leaving her bin in your garden (not me, my friend).

So, decide who you want to be. Maybe it’s the person who finally masters glass fusing without accidentally severing a limb (a lofty goal in my case). Maybe it’s the artist who turns discarded bottles into masterpieces (I am absolutely working on this). Or maybe it’s just someone who can laugh at the fact that they've broken yet another trio of mackerel that took over 30 hours to create and this is the third set (and I am seriously crying right now) and keep going anyway.

Every little win counts... even if it's just hitting your mouth with the wine glass after you've smashed away 90 hours of your life.

On a side note: If you're following me right now, the mackerel have appeared in various socials. The glue that they told me wouldn't fail failed and my mackerel are now in a pile of broken pieces. In the spirit of this blog post, however, I have picked them back up and am repurposing them... watch this space.