“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.” — Zechariah 4:10 (NLT)

I’ve always loved this verse because it speaks to something our culture often overlooks.

We celebrate the big promotion.

The published book.

The successful business.

The major milestone.

But God reminds us not to despise small beginnings.

Not the first step.

Not the unfinished project.

Not the tiny act of faith that nobody else notices.

As someone with a neurodivergent brain, I’ve learned that many of my victories fall into the category of things other people ignore.

Digital Chaos

For years, my phone was filled with endless to-do lists.

Not one list.

Dozens.

I had lists for work, church, writing projects, errands, future goals, blog ideas, and random thoughts that popped into my head at three in the morning.

My brain is constantly generating ideas. That’s one of its gifts.

It’s also one of its challenges.

I would start my day with the best intentions. Then I would jump from one task to another. An email would remind me of a project. A project would spark a new idea. A new idea would send me down a research rabbit hole. Before I knew it, I had spent hours being busy without making meaningful progress.

The harder I tried to stay organized, the longer my lists became.

Eventually, I realized the lists themselves had become part of the problem.

Going Back to Paper

A few months ago, I decided to try something different.

Instead of maintaining endless digital lists, I returned to my paper planner. Every evening, I identify my Top 3 priorities for the next day.

Just three.

Not fifteen.

Not twenty.

Three.

The next morning, I focus on those priorities before worrying about everything else competing for my attention.

Something unexpected happened.

I found peace.

Planner peace.

My mind felt quieter.

My days felt less overwhelming.

And for the first time in a long time, I consistently finished important tasks instead of simply collecting ideas about them.

Now I celebrate things that other people might overlook.

Finishing a blog post.

Returning an important phone call.

Completing a client report.

Following through on a commitment.

Those accomplishments may not look extraordinary from the outside, but I know the effort behind them.

I know what it takes to manage executive dysfunction.

I know what it takes to redirect a wandering mind.

I know what it takes to stay focused when ten other ideas are fighting for attention.

That’s why I celebrate the small wins.

Not because they are small.

But because they are evidence of growth.

Evidence of healing.

Evidence that God is still helping me become who He created me to be.

What Does Nas Say?

This reminds me of a line from Nas’s classic song The World Is Yours:

“I keep fallin’, but never fallin’ six feet deep.”

That lyric hits differently now than it did when I was younger.

When you live with a neurodivergent brain, there are days when you lose your train of thought. Days when your planner gets ignored. Days when your attention goes in ten different directions at once.

There are days when you feel like you’re falling.

But the goal was never perfection.

The goal was always persistence.

That’s what I’ve learned through faith, healing, and experience. Falling behind doesn’t mean you’ve failed. Getting distracted doesn’t erase your progress. Having to start over doesn’t mean you’re back at the beginning.

Like Nas, I may keep falling.

But I’m still moving forward.

These days, I celebrate the evidence of that progress.

A completed blog post.

Three priorities checked off in my planner.

A client report finished on time.

A promise kept to myself.

Those may seem like small wins to other people. To me, they are reminders that God is still at work.

The miracle isn’t that I never struggle.

The miracle is that I keep getting back up.

One small win at a time.

Reflection: What small win have you accomplished recently that deserves more celebration than you’ve given it?

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