Do you have a desire to improve things in your life, just in time for the New Year? Getting into shape, reading more, being more productive, or quitting smoking, just to name a few. Every year, you take the time to create a plan of action and hit the ground running, making drastic changes to your life and daily routine. Then, two weeks later, enthusiasm eventually wears out and motivation is a thing of the past. Read my post “New Year, Same Results?”. What if I told you that is you want to make impactful changes in your life, all you have to do is start small.
Here’s The Reason Why You Can’t Change
It’s not that you’re lazy, lack self-discipline or kick-ass willpower. It’s that your current habits are not in alignment with or reflection of the person you want to be or the things you desire to achieve in your life. The person that you are today is a direct result of your habits and your habits are an embodiment of who you are. So, if you want to change your life, you absolutely must change your habits.
What is a Habit?
Habits are activities that come natural to us. By definition, habits are the rituals or behaviors that we perform every day without putting much thought into them. Some habits can be good, like flossing and brushing your teeth every day or drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning. While others can be bad, like nail biting, or checking your social media as soon as you wake up. Again, habits are so important because they’re a reflection of who you are. So, take a moment and think about your daily habits, list them out of you must. Are they helping or hurting you?
The Power of Small Habits
Making meaningful change in your life doesn’t have to be difficult, complicated or drastic. In fact, if you want to see a change, just make it tiny. In addition to that, you have to stop fixating on the outcome. Because that’s where you get all screwed up and unmotivated when you drastically changed something for a week but don’t see the results. Instead, you have to shift your focus from the desired outcome, to actual progress you’re making. It’s all about crawling before you walk!
Small habits are important because they’re your way of investing in yourself and your life (when they’re good). If you want truly improve your life, all you need to do is create new small habits with benefits that build over time.
“Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.” – James Clear
In the best-selling book “Atomic Habits:” author, James Clear, explains how changing your habits to improve by only 1% of your life every day can lead to large benefits. That’s it! 1%. Yes, the small changes and new habits you’re developing may not seem like much now, but as time progresses and you stick to them, you won’t be able to deny the results. In doing so, these small changes will COMPOUND into something larger as time progresses and become super impactful.
The book is a gem and will really change the way you live your day to day life. Backed by his own personal experience and supported by tons of evidence, Clear teaches that in order to transform your life and see remarkable results, all you need to do is make a few small tweaks.
I highly recommend this book. I finished reading it in about a week using Audible and it is absolutely eye-opening. If you download Audible now, you’ll get two free books! Check it out here!
So, what small but impactful changes do you plan on making for next year? Let me know below in the comments!
