Musing: The Power of One Small Change

We are a culture of sweeping gestures. It’s go big or go home. But dramatic changes are hard so sustain. (You know that the average life span of a New Year’s Resolution is TWO DAYS?!)

But sometimes it’s just a little change that can make all the difference.

One small action, that, done consistently and persistently, makes all the difference. Think of a ship altering its trajectory by 1 degree. In a mile down the way, it’s in a whole new place.

Curious what that small change might be for you? Maybe you already know.

If you do know, are you ready to make the change today?

If you aren’t sure what you need to change, keep going. Let me inspire you.

Actually, I have shared this idea in a variety of ways. Do you want to read, listen or watch! 🙂

• Read. (Scroll down.)
• Listen to the podcast: It is Episode #24
• Watch the videos. (Scroll down.)

AND, definitely download the quick cheat sheet I put together for you:

The Process of Making One Small Change

Step One: Choose an area of your life you want to work on.

Where in your life do you want to change? Is it your financials? Career? Relationships? Health? Physical fitness? I usually find people know quickly what area in their life needs work and can rattle this off. (In fact, it’s probably the reason you chose to read this post in the first place!)

Choose the area in which a slight change could make a huge difference.

Step Two: Choose the action you will take.

What action in that area can you take that will make a difference? It needs to be so small, you think, “Pphhtt, I can totally do that.” Let it be simple so you know you can be consistent with it.

Step Three: Schedule it.

One of the most powerful steps you can take is to be very specific as to when you will be taking your action. What day(s) will you be doing it and what time on those days? The more specific you are, the better the chance for success. The general, “I will do it sometime tomorrow,” will doom you to failure. It is amazing how many excuses you can come up with when you aren’t specific.

Be honest with yourself in this step. If you cannot stand early mornings, don’t commit to getting up an hour early. If you are always running late to get home at night, don’t schedule it to fit it in before dinner. Have the action be at a time that you think you will be most successful. Whenever anyone asks if there is a perfect time to practice yoga, I always answer, “Absolutely! Whenever you will do it!” And I mean it.

Then actually schedule your action in. Meaning write it in your calendar, schedule it on your phone. Add an alarm or reminder if you need to. It’s not real if it’s not on your calendar.

Step Four: Choose a start date.

What date will you begin? You might say, “Today!” with great excitement but it is usually more beneficial to hold off a bit. Is there planning you need to do to ensure success?

I also find holding off a bit to build excitement helpful. The more excited I am, the more energy I will have in the beginning when changing a habit can be harder.

Step Five: Accountability

On the Cheat Sheet I made for you I have an accountability chart. USE IT! We can totally fool ourselves into thinking we are being dedicated and taking our action daily when a week can slip by without noticing.

Better yet, have an accountability partner. Let someone know what you are doing and ask if you can report back to her about your progress.

Ready…Set…Go! You will be surprised how soon you start to feel better!

Prefer a video format? Here are a couple of videos I did this past week on my Facebook page on this topic. Enjoy!

He Said | She Said

One Change that Changes Everything

Here is the He Said | She Said episode I did with my hubby, Ron, on One Change that Changes Everything.