It's good to start small

The power of a small change should not be underestimated.  Sometimes we think that in order to make a change we’re going to need to make a massive overhaul.  In order to lose weight we’re going to have to change our entire eating patterns and start a whole new exercise regime.  In order to increase our income we’re going to have to start again in a whole new area, studying something new, and working our way up from there.  The reality is though, that big changes are often overwhelming, poorly thought out and completely unsustainable, which means they get abandoned very quickly.  Small changes, on the other hand, are much more doable, but often get dismissed with the idea that they just won’t make enough difference, and when we think about small changes in this way, nothing changes at all.

The reality is though, that every change makes a difference, and that small changes really add up over time.  Brushing your teeth is a great example of this.  It’s something that is really quick to do but as an isolated action, doesn’t appear to make a huge difference to the health of your teeth.  Yet we all know that over time, this is an incredibly important action, and the difference between brushing your teeth a couple of times each day versus not brushing them at all is incredibly significant over time, meaning the difference between healthy teeth and gums, or rotten teeth and gum disease.

Another example where it’s really easy to see the importance of a small change is by considering a plane. If a plane took off from an airport on the equator and it’s plan was to fly around the world in a straight line, landing again at the same airport, but it’s instruments were 1 degree out, by the time that plane arrived back at that longitude, it would be a massive 800km off course.  This clearly shows us that small changes add up, and it’s great to keep this in mind when we’re considering changes we might like to make in our lives.  When we look at 1 degree of difference on a protractor, it doesn’t seem like much, but once we’ve taken that 1 degree of change a few years out in to the future, that change will be highly significant, and most definitely worth it.

So instead of dismissing a change as too small and therefore not worth making, I encourage you to embrace small changes.  Whether that change is altering the snack you have for afternoon tea, going for a walk with a friend each week, or making a point of doing something nice for your partner each day, it is something that will make a significant difference over time.  Added to that, these things are easy to plan and easy to achieve, making them a realistic way of creating something truly wonderful in your future.