Most of us have things we don’t like in our own lives. We’re fatter, lonelier, poorer, less motivated, less physically fit, or otherwise falling short of what we would want to be. Yet to do something about any of those things often seems paralyzing.
Michael Hyatt wrote recently about the power of incremental change over time. While most of us are change-averse to some degree, if we set a plan in motion to make a big change little-by-little, it breaks a task that seems impossible down to something very achievable on a day-to-day basis.
I can personally attest to the power of making small changes for an extended period of time in several areas within my own life:
1) Weight Loss – Two years ago, I was 50 pounds heavier with no positive developments in sight. Rather than starving myself and obsessively working out (leading to burnout), I made incremental changes in my daily habits and lost the weight in a few months (and kept it off).
2) Debt Repayment – Not long ago, the wife and I had more than $35k in student loan debt. Today, we have cut that number in half with no major increases in annual income. Over the next 12-18 months, we hope to eradicate most of the rest.
3) Scripture Memory – By the end of 2011, I will have memorized several long portions (most being 8-12 verses each) of scripture simply through daily repetition.
Though we can rarely enact massive changes all at once, all of us can make significant progress toward larger change a little at a time with a little bit of self-discipline.
What do you not like about your own life? How could you begin to change things day-to-day and over time move closer toward where you would want to be?
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