Incremental Victories

Any good teacher
Will encourage
Their students with
Incremental victories
Along the way,
Carefully building
Their confidence
With minor triumphs,
Subtly convincing them
That they can succeed,
That progress
Is being made.
They do this
Both for themselves,
And for their students,
As a way of countering
The frustration inherent
In learning,
And teaching someone
New things.
It seems like
Such a basic skill,
Yet I have witnessed
So many people
Burn themselves out
Forgetting the necessity
Of winning
On a daily basis.
Anyone who doesn’t
Grant themselves,
Or those under them,
A medicinal dose
Of trivial success
Is unlikely to go very far.