Small Changes Make for Big Results
Small changes lead to less stress, more consistency and better results
Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Pace Yourself Accordingly — Amby Burfoot
When I recommitted to my journey with minimalism, I was hardcore, all in. I took on one of the decluttering challenges to go through my possessions- what was left of them anyway.
The challenge I took on was to get rid of 500 things in one month. It worked on a system where you would choose 1 thing to get rid of on day 1, 2 things on day 2, and so on.
At the end of the challenge, I didn’t feel empowered, I felt exhausted.
The idea of cleaning out any of the rest of the house was daunting. I just didn’t want to look at another Goodwill, another trash bag or another pile of stuff.
Even though my mom was ready to start to get rid of her stuff, I hated the idea of looking at one more thing.
The Pattern of Taking On Too Much, Too Soon
There’s a pattern in my own life, and maybe yours too. We decide to commit to something whole heartedly. We get amped up- watching videos including TED talks, reading books and blogs and buying new equipment for our routines. We get up early knowing that we have this project to tackle. We’re excited.
Until we’re not. It might not appear that we’re headed in this direction, but one day we wake up not wanting to do the activity.
We feel trapped and not excited. The thing that was bringing so much benefit and joy becomes a chore and something we have to (not want to) do.
What happens in the middle? We put so much of ourselves into the project we are trying to complete that consciosly or subconsciously, we burn ourselves out.
We take on too much at one time. We keep going with this process until one day we realize we are unmotivated and stuck.
What the Process to Change Could Look Like
What if the next time we decided we wanted to try something we went about it differently?
For example, let’s say that you want to be a consistent writer and get to the point where you post online everyday. You’re starting completely from scratch.
You decide that you want to start with posting to Medium one day per week. You also want to create two Instagram posts per week and a total of six tweets per week. You keep to this schedule for a month.
The second month you decide to stretch yourself and write three times a week. You keep up with the social media posting as well.
The third month you decide to take on a challenge. You decide to write five times a week on Medium and keep the social media posting.
At the end of six months, you still have your habit of writing on Medium five times per week. You’ve also built your social media scheduling but you’ve also done that slowly.
What happens: You become consistent when you start small and make small additions. You pace yourself instead of starting all at once. You slowly build making things more sustainable long term.
Why Small Changes Work
Small changes give us a starting point. They seem completely doable, the only thing we might need to do is to write it on our calendar or set a reminder to do the activity.
Once we are accustomed to the small change, we can challenge ourselves to build upon the small change.
We can slowly add larger amounts to the orginial or begin to build in related activities- one or two at a time. Once this begins to feel comfortable, we can bring it up to another level. The process continues.
Going small and slow is more sustainable because it’s doable and able to become part of our daily life. It makes sense. In choosing slow, we avoid the all or nothing attitude that comes from making massive changes that burns us out and takes away our passion for the activity. It also sticks because it’s become habit.
What Can We Apply This Process To?
Really, anything that we care enough to accomplish.
- Reading Routines: start with 5 pages, build from there
- Paying down debt: start with the smallest debt. Double the minimum payment.
- Writing: start with one piece a week. Build out from there
- Decluttering: get rid of five things today and put another five away
- Time: set aside 10 minutes for something that matters today. Keep it consistent and build
- A skill: learn 1 new thing about the skill (how to thread a needle, how to say please, how to hammer a nail, etc.). Learn 1 new thing about the skill every day this month
- Journal writing: start with writing a sentence. Write a sentence every day for a week. Slowly add up to a paragraph and then a full page
- Losing weight: choose 1 small change (like keeping a food diary). Do this every day for a month. Build from there.
Conclusion
The idea of starting small and building from there is more sustainable than jumping into a project with both feet.
When we take the time to start slowly, we allow ourselves more time to reflect, grow and learn from the change instead of feeling the need to get it all done- now.
The next time you want to make a change, make it a slow change. You’ll see the benefits as you continue to practice.
