If you’re anything like me, you’ve read all about living your potential and creating a life you love. You’ve tried so many “fresh starts” that you’re an expert at falling off the wagon.
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It’s overwhelming, all the things we need to do.
I don’t know about you, but I just don’t have the energy to eat 5 fresh fruit and vegetables, meditate, do brain-training puzzles, get to the gym, hold down a job, sleep and still have a social life; let alone do it all every single day.
Also, all that hoping for a better life and the idea of ‘living the dream’ is hindered or supported by our daily actions.
As a Psychological Practitioner, I’ve not only been trying to reach my potential and manage my own life-balance, but also I’ve worked with parents, young adults and those experiencing mental health struggles across a variety of roles to create a daily routine which serves them.
And I’m here to tell you that making small, daily changes really adds up.
If you get nothing else from this article, take that tiny seed of truth:
A tiny change on a daily basis really can have an impact. (Maurer, R. 2014)
Below, I list four simple actions you could incorporate. Choose one and try it for at least a fortnight before adding a second. If you want to try them all at once, give yourself a good six months.
Think about your life six months, a year ago, it may feel like you are progressing slowly, but if it sticks and lasts — isn’t it worth it?
Step 1. Create some mental space.
Try things that you think will be easy to stick to. For example:
- Meditate for two minutes.
- Try one minute of mindfulness twice a day.
- Journal a few minutes to get those pesky thoughts out of your head and on to paper.
- Do some form of exercise to get your body moving (one squat while you brush your teeth, for example).
- Aim for any activity that is relaxing for you: a bubble bath, reading a book, watching a comedy, or adult (or child!) colouring books.
As long as it gives you a bit of space from your mind, it counts. Even if it is one or two minutes a day, it will have an impact over time.
Trust me.
Step 2. Connect.
It doesn’t matter if it’s with another person, your environment, the four elements, or your pet: but some kind of connection is crucial on a daily basis. Loneliness is not healthy: we need to feel that we are part of a bigger story.
- Play with a pet.
- Hug a person you live with.
- Run your hands under the warm water tap or in a nice warm sweater.
- Breathe in fresh air from an open window.
- Stand barefoot on the ground: either pavement or concrete or grass.
- Gaze into a candle flame.
- Join an online forum and get chatting about a shared interest.
- Text a friend for a catch-up check-in.
- Hug a tree!
- Write an email to someone.
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Step 3. Shape your vision.
If you do not know where you’re heading, you’re less likely to get there than if you have a destination, compass and map. Yet, we often move through our daily lives without planning the next few weeks, and often feel frustrated that we haven’t made more progress.
– Choose one goal and break it down into 15-minute steps. If something doesn’t break down, then set time-limits. If “do module one of this course” can’t be split further, pick “look at 2 pages a day” or “create 10 minutes every other day to study it.”
– Each time you reach a ‘milestone’, celebrate and then plan the next step! This is crucial to building momentum and keeping motivation going.
Step 4. Review.
Reflecting on past attempts to change can be hugely useful. You learn what the obstacles are in your life, and work out on a small, manageable scale, how to overcome those challenges.
Ask yourself:
- What’s working or not working?
- What’s blocking me?
- What would it be like if this block wasn’t there?
- What else could I try?
Analyse any ‘failures’ and look for the lesson:
Take that new knowledge and use it to improve the process!
Making small, manageable, daily changes shows us what works or doesn’t, teaches us to act, and helps build motivation without overwhelm.
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You’re so much more likely to sit for one minute of colouring than for an hour. Seven minutes a week of an activity you are trying to incorporate adds to six hours of mental space a year that you did not have before.
These ideas might not turn our life around but they do build in the foundation for change.
Want to learn more about empowering yourself? Read more about self-help without the overwhelm here.
REFERENCE
Maurer, R. (2014.) One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way. Workman Publishing Company.
This article was first published on “Evidence of“.