They are the little things that have the greatest impact in our lives. The small changes to our daily habits have the most lost-lasting effect. Too often, however, we try to make the big changes and only become discouraged.
Recently, I have intensified my own efforts at refining my own well-centeredness. Focusing on the little things that make the most difference. Time-management. Relationships. Diet, exercise, and health. Attitude. Small tweaks make big differences when seen over time. Consistent change compounds over time.
I surprised my wife with a request that we set aside 15 minutes a night to connect. During these 15-min Check-ins, we sit in our living room, enjoys a glass of wine or beer together, and just share—our day, our thoughts, our dreams, our concerns, etc. Very quickly, this became a priority. We are both excited for this time and are not so easily distracted from it. The last two nights, Pam has had work events until late, and, honestly, missing this time together was hard. I missed it. There was an unexpected void in my day. The value of taking this brief time on a daily basis cannot be overestimated. First, in initiating the activity, I communicated to my wife that she is important and that I value time with her. (Any man would be wise to rack up the good-husband points with anything that communicated this!) Second, it created another opportunity to hit the pause button. (As a fan of Jim Harshaw’s podcast, “Wrestling with Greatness”, the importance of taking time in the day to just pause and reflect, plan, and reset is a clear habit of successful people.) Additionally, it feels like a mini-date in a time in our lives where more frequent date nights are not possible.
Another recent habit change was challenging myself to get up a half-hour earlier to journal before starting anything else in my day. For some, this should not be any great feat, except I ordinarily get up at 4:30 AM. So, getting up at 4 o’clock is all the more challenging. But, this has done several things for me. First and foremost, it has afforded me the opportunity to read a little bit and journal in a more relaxed and unrushed fashion. Prior to making this change, I often found myself rushed to the point of not having time to write (and therefore set goals for the day) or hastening though what should be a more thoughtful and purposeful act. Second, it has helped me become more disciplined. It has made it more difficult to skip a morning workout. Above all, it has me starting my day purposefully and without excuses.
I set my goal of getting up at 4 AM as a 21-day challenge. This way, I can’t find reason to skip a day here and there. Today, a Saturday, four days into the challenge, I woke up at 3:59 AM without the alarm! Already, before the rest of the family is out of bed, I have much more accomplished.
In setting my task on journaling before anything else, it also puts social media, e-mail, Spider Solitaire, etc. on hold. I find I am wasting less time in the morning.
Another small, but important change I have made in my routine is subscribing to podcasts. My commute is about an hour each way. Usually, I just listen to the news on the radio and get upset with the drivers who don’t drive as well as I do. Listening, instead, to podcasts—selecting those that emphasize success and dreaming big (three favorites presently are: “Earn the Right to Live Your Dreams” with Coyte Cooper, “Wrestling with Greatness” with Jim Harshaw, and “The Charged Life” with Brendon Burchard)—I find my attitude to be much better, and I enter my 9 AM class with far greater enthusiasm. A bit less road rage occurs, as well.
I am also forgoing the serial binge watching of television shows during my cardio sessions. Instead, I am watching Ted Talks, educating You Tube videos, or listing to more podcasts. I am still binging, but my diet is healthier!
These are but a few personal examples. I am sure I will have more to say on the topic as time goes on. The point to be made here is: don’t wait for big changes in your life. Set smaller goals that will have a compounding effect. Rather than a complete overhaul of your diet (i.e., adopting the latest fad diet in an effort to lose fat) find the few small changes that might have the most effect over the long haul—and, therefore, be sustainable (certainly more to come on this). Rather than embarking on an impossible exercise program, change your exercise habits one by one—e.g., progressively increase the distance your park from your office or the store, take the stairs instead of the escalator, add an exercise break into your day, etc. Changes don’t have to be big to be impactful. They just need to be consistent. Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento.