Kiki’s Big Dream Experiment - Week 7 - Triumph
Week 7 of Kiki’s Big Dream Experiment
Hey Dreamer,
This is a tough one. All week, I have been keeping my eyes out for major situations related to Week 7’s theme of Triumph. A lesson I learned in Week 2 was that searching doesn’t always yield results. Sometimes, inaction does.
Inaction is not about “not taking action”. It refers to effortless action - action that feels correct to do in the moment, something you don’t need to rationalise doing. You just know it is the right thing to do. It is a complicated idea, but one which can be very helpful for growth.
This week, my calendar was pretty full. On paper, there were so many opportunities for Triumph. But those planned activities come with measured levels of success, usually. It is the unplanned activities and restful periods that can offer the most bang for your buck when it comes to self-improvement.
I found a fantastic sense of Triumph this week by realising that speaking my truth is only one of the first steps on the journey. By the time I get to a point where I say something out loud, I’ve already done so much work internally on the idea before it is ready to make an appearance. That moment of expression is near the end of one journey, but it starts a whole new journey - the internal manifests externally.
I can relate this idea to my weekly content pieces. I set up Kiki’s Big Dream Experiment with a weekly schedule of content, with the twist being that I address a different theme each week. All of that effort is behind the scenes, and my expression becomes the article I write, the poetry I craft, the games I play, and the words I publish. Once they are out in the world, they become pieces of a larger story.
Then - I am back to the drawing board, trying to figure out - ok, what’s next for the story?
Before I get into that too much, I’m going to share this week’s content pieces with you.
Mon · 17th Nov:
Podcast Episode on Spotify - Episode 7 - Triumph - This week’s topic of Triumph gave me space to distil this typically material concept into its component parts
Tue · 18th Nov:
Newsletter on LinkedIn - The Feeling of Triumph · November 18th, 2025 - There is a disconnect between the collective and personal senses of Triumph we feel in the workplace - and the stories are never about the personal, they are always focused on the collective
Live on TikTok - KBDE #7 - Triumph - A personal and interactive discussion of the topic of Triumph
Video on YouTube - Kiki's Big Dream Experiment - TikTok Live - Episode 7 - Triumph - A recording of my TikTok Live on the theme of Triumph
Wed · 19th Nov:
Board on Pinterest - KBDE - Week 7 - Triumph - A collection of pins linked to my content for Week 7
Stream on Twitch - KBDE 💥 Borderlands 4 - Part 7.1 - Part 1 of Week 7’s Borderlands 4 stream
Stream on Twitch - KBDE 💥 Borderlands 4 - Part 7.2 - Part 2 of Week 7’s Borderlands 4 stream
Video on YouTube - KBDE 💥 Borderlands 4 - Part 7.1 - A recording of part 1 of my Twitch livestream of Borderlands 4
Video on YouTube - KBDE 💥 Borderlands 4 - Part 7.2 - A recording of part 2 of my Twitch livestream of Borderlands 4
Thu · 20th Nov:
Post on Substack - The Importance of Cultivating Triumph - When we face challenging times, it can often feel easier to give up - but when we don’t want to do that, there is advancement we can make by cultivating a sense of Triumph
Fri · 21st Nov:
Post on Instagram - My Vow - This poem is a personal love letter
Sun · 23rd Nov:
Blog on my Website - Kiki’s Big Dream Experiment - Week 7 - Triumph - My wrap-up post for the week
As I get closer to the end of Kiki’s Big Dream Experiment, naturally, I think about what will come next in my story. Part of this decision includes assessing which content channels I wish to keep up with and which ones I want to leave behind. I haven’t made any decisions yet, but it is a factor I’m taking into consideration. I have found this entire process to be wonderfully creative, and it has been a huge boon to me.
Reflection on Week 7
Triumph is Silent
We celebrate successes all the time. We throw parties of all sorts. We recognise achievements in many different ways. But often, we can be neglectful in recognising and celebrating Triumph. We are great at rewarding objective and measurable measures of success - such as passing exams, receiving rewards at work, and even getting married. When there is ambiguity and subjectivity involved, it is very easy to forget the important role that Triumph plays.
From the perspective of personal Triumph, it’s very much a case of one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. I’m sure that to many of you reading this, you may have no intention of ever having a podcast, and so publishing one weekly for 2 months straight would probably feel inconsequential to you. For me, it’s a big deal. Not only because I have a podcast published online, but because I’ve put in all the work to get to that point.
Each week that you read this blog post, I tell you about my successes during the week. But unless you follow every single post and watch every single video, you likely won’t see or understand what it truly means to me to be 7 weeks into this experiment and still showing up consistently.
We all have silent wins. They are often silent because we don’t think it’s worth talking about. The phone call to the bank that you’ve been putting off for 2 weeks finally gets some attention, but you feel bad that it’s taken that long to make a small phone call. Most people would baulk at that. But I say, well done! A lot was going on for you that made it difficult to make that phone call.
This is why it’s really important to revel in your sense of Triumph when it comes your way - you’ll need it!
Triumph is Complicated
Over the week, I have talked about how Triumph is a Hero’s Journey. Like any good hero, there are perils and pitfalls along the way. Such is the sick nature of Triumph - we must be challenged and suffer before we can celebrate success. After all, if you do something that is neither challenging nor effortful, is it even worth feeling triumphant?
Yes - it is. Because growth is not linear, and neither is progress. Thus, Triumph comes in waves.
They say you need to break a few eggs to make an omelette. This is often the case when it comes to Triumph. Sometimes, those actions you take on the path towards your goal set in motion a whole host of unexpected consequences. Each one offering a potential challenge to add to your woes.
When you decide to make big life changes, you risk upsetting many status quos that want to hold you back. You’re then faced with another decision - do you really want to go through with it?
I say - go for it! If you’ve gotten that far, then it’s other people holding you back, and that’s not fair to you. But that’s life. There are going to be people who hold you back because of reasons you’ll never understand. But you have to ruffle some feathers at some point in your life, and you’ll begin to wonder if the Triumph is worth the trouble.
It is.
I’m Sick of the Word Triumph
Ok, ok. Yes. I’m sick of talking about Triumph. It has been maddening to speak about something so sickeningly radiant all week. I think it’s because I’ve been conditioned to focus on the negatives in life. Can you blame me?
Every day, we hear of more and more news stories about the horrors being unleashed on the world. Not to mention the jealousy and envy that come with being successful at something. Humans are not conditioned to be overly positive. We are naturally evolved to hold onto negativity - because that negativity forms our survival instincts.
This might be too meta - but perhaps I am unconsciously averse to Triumph?
Or maybe I’m just very tired from trying to be “on” all week by discussing this topic.
Too much of a good thing can be bad for you. Too much Triumph can make you feel invincible. It can also feel like nothing is worth it because you know it’ll be successful anyway.
Just like any good thing - moderation is important.
Takeaways from Week 7
My takeaways for Week 7 are as follows:
Triumph = Challenge + Effort: The larger the challenge or the more effort you expend, the larger the sense of Triumph. That phone call that took 2 weeks to do can still be a large Triumph because the mental energy and capacity it took to finally do it was far more than you expected, but you got there.
Triumph comes from the end of a story: The sense of Triumph we think about comes at the end of a story. There was a presenting challenge which you took action on to overcome, which led to a favourable outcome. It feels like all the effort, stress, and nonsense were finally worth it in the end.
Dreams come in two forms: There are dreams we have of futures we want to work towards, and there are dreams we have of past lives we regret not choosing. Our dreams are not linear. We can always revisit past decisions and find new pathways to reach them.
The wins don’t always feel like wins: Sometimes, the win we expect does not manifest the way we expect. I have experienced many a Triumph this week, which came from small moments that felt fleeting. It is only because I explored these over a week that I could see the incremental advancement towards a larger Triumph. Some of those moments even felt like losses or regression, but actually, those were pivot points. It is all in the reframing.
Triumph is something you can cultivate: Personal Triumph is often ignored by others because they cannot see it. It is important to recognise your own achievements so that you can revel in that feeling, and call upon it for moral support in times of great challenges. Showing gratitude is a fantastic way of cultivating Triumph because it shows you that you are recognising your wins.
Introducing Week 8 of Kiki’s Big Dream Experiment
Dream for Week 8:
I want to take a step back from how I view my dream for Week 8. My past few weeks have been quite material in my dreams, and I want to go for something ethereal. I wish to embody the collective progress I have made in this experiment and tie it all together. This past week has opened my eyes to a few areas ripe for progress, and I want to truly live into my weekly lessons and apply them. I dream about finding the right answers next week. I’m not out looking for answers - but I hope through effortless action that I find what I need for the final 4 weeks of Kiki’s Big Dream Experiment.
Theme for Week 8:
While focusing on the takeaways from Week 7, and my dream for Week 8, I shuffled my tarot deck. Once I felt ready, I stopped and drew…
2 The High Priestess
Mystery, Psychic Wisdom
The High Priestess sits in stillness.
From there she’s able to access realms others pass by without noticing, the vast world of intuition, dreams, and mystery.
She uses silence and non-action to harness this power.
Sometimes this card appears to remind you to listen more closely to the voice within.
Other times it’s a sign to look past the obvious, to find what’s being kept secret or hidden within a given situation.
Acknowledge the shadows.
I swear to you - I am genuinely pulling random cards. Each week that goes by, I feel as if the cards are telling the story for me. I’ve come to develop an interesting relationship with The High Priestess card. I found it a difficult card to understand when I began tarot, but now it feels intuitive. I have come to develop a strong affinity with my intuition - using it as a guide for navigating difficulty. This is the lesson that this card has taught me so far, and I am excited to see how next week will go as it joins my side for 7 days.
I am choosing the theme of Mystery for Week 8. There is so much uncertainty in the world right now. There is so much confusion over whether our lives are worth anything in the grand scheme of humanity. These are difficult topics to discuss, but they are also ripe for harvesting because we can all support each other in the chaos. The path forward is paved with uncertainty - it is only through intuition that we can garner some sense of direction.
Keep dreaming,
Kiki <3
