Have you ever tried to give your life a makeover, by establishing new routines and new habits. Maybe you went all in on a whole new plan to get up early, workout, eat healthy, keep the house clean, meal plan, only to have the plan come crashing down in a week, or even a day. We recognize the need for growth through change, but it can be difficult to know where to begin. The temptation is a complete life overhaul.
But I can tell you both from reading and listening to information on the topic, as well as from my own life experience (yes, I’ve been there and tried that), that instant life makeovers just don’t work, at least not in my case. Yes, it would be awesome to wake up one morning, and suddenly be rid of all of the bad habits and have good habits in their place.
It would be amazing if I could effortlessly execute the new routine I planned, simply because I wrote it down. However, the truth is, most of the time people change bit by bit. Yes, there are times when someone quits a bad habit cold turkey, or starts a good one and remains really dedicated, but for the most part, our growth is slow and organic.
The good news is that each good habit we have affects all the other areas of our life. Little tiny, good seed habits may seem too insignificant to even make a difference, but not only are we slowly rewriting our identity, we are starting momentum in the right direction. Although I didn’t agree with every viewpoint in the book, I enjoyed reading The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy, who explores the compounded effects that good and bad habits can have on us over a period of time.
A small, good habit doesn’t happen in isolation, and neither does a small bad habit. For example, bad food isn’t just bad for our bodies, it affects our mental state, our energy levels, how we treat our families, and so on. Conversely, food that fuels and energizes our bodies will be good for the other areas of our lives as well. These tiny daily habits that we put into place result with a big impact.
If you want to make real progress, I recommend working on one or two habits at a time. If you are still having trouble with implementing habits that stick, then scale them back, until they are so small, it would be silly not to do them. I like the idea of regularly exercising, but I was never able to make the habit stick, until I started not with a half hour, or even five minutes a day, but one minute. Even I can’t come up with an excuse not to get my body moving for one measly minute. Now, I actually do this almost every single day, and most days for longer than one minute, but on the very rare occasion that I forgot yesterday, there is nothing to prevent me from working out for one minute today. I am slowly changing my identity from a person who almost never exercises to one who exercises almost daily.
I am a recovering perfectionist who frequently, recognizing the need for change and growth, would try to do it all at once. But it never worked. Now that I have scaled back my habit goals, I can see the little habits on which I have actually been consistent, and I can be joyful about this humble progress. I think these seed habits are finally here to stay.
With only one or two little habits to work on at a time, you will most likely find that the habits stick much more quickly than they once did. At least that’s what I have found. There are lots of little habits that can add up to a big impact on your life. A few ideas are: pray for 3-5 minutes alone or as a family; take out any meat from the freezer the night before; thank God for one thing every day; go outside for at least five minutes every day.
The possibilities for habits are endless. You know what you need most in your life. I hope that you start a journey today, of cultivating small habits that will grow to have a big impact. Dream big and start small.
