We live in a world that glorifies instant gratification. Living in the Digital Age, we’ve grown accustomed to seeking short-term satisfaction through likes, reels, and next-day deliveries. We want it all, and we want it now.
That’s why the idea of slow, deliberate progress might not seem that exciting.
However, something remarkable and transformative happens when we learn how to cut through the chaos and implement small, meaningful changes into our daily lives.
When you learn to trust the journey and know it’s leading you somewhere remarkable, temporary thrills begin to look less appealing. The small actions and healthy life changes you implement now can turn into beneficial habits that serve you for the rest of your life.
Today, we’re sharing how to shift your mindset from immediate to intentional, sharing the healthy, life-giving steps that can lead to the biggest payouts.
What is a ‘Small Action’?
A small action is a manageable, repeatable tweak you make to your daily routine. It’s a tiny change you implement once and can continue practicing indefinitely without devoting too much brain power or exerting too much effort.
On its own, the action might not seem like much. That’s because it isn’t. This isn’t a major, ground-breaking lifestyle shift that catalyzes a dramatic reaction. You’re doing these tiny actions with a big-picture perspective in mind, knowing that each day, they’ll benefit your life and shape it for the better.
Moving, changing careers, getting married, starting a family. These are major life events and not small actions. You’ll feel the impact of those milestones immediately and all at once.
With small actions, the gear-turning growth happens more in the background, with results that you can only see when enough time passes and you can take a step back, revealing how far you’ve come. The tiny steps all are accumulative and all moving you forward.
Here are a few examples:
- Taking the stairs instead of the elevator
- Writing out your daily schedule every morning
- Drinking a glass of water in the morning before filling up your coffee cup
- Putting your phone away at mealtimes
- Making eye contact when speaking with someone
- Starting your day with a quiet moment of gratitude
- Creating a personal, self-affirming mantra
- Reading for 20 minutes before going to bed
- Making your bed every morning
- Parking far away and walking to your destination
Those sound easy enough that you might wonder if they’re worth doing in the first place. After all, how much can you gain by filling up on water before downing a cup of coffee?
Remember: It’s all about repetition and intention.
Drinking water first thing in the morning one time won’t make you a healthier, stronger, or more capable person. However, research shows that this single action will help flush out your stomach and balance your lymphatic system when sustained over time. When your lymphatic system is stable, it strengthens your immune system, making you less prone to illness.
How much could you grow if you were willing to take the first tiny step and see the promise at the start?
How Small Actions Create Life-Long Habits
There’s a reason why nearly 80% of people abandon their New Year’s resolutions by February. Despite our good intentions, we’re just not wired to embrace new, big habits all at once wholeheartedly.
By nature, we’re creatures of comfort. The promises we utter as the ball drops in Times Square might sound good in the moment, but it takes a substantial amount of willpower to put them into practice.
That isn’t to say it can’t be done. There are plenty of people who go from never running a day in their lives to crossing the finish line at the New York City Marathon. Yet, the truest and longest-lasting transformations rarely have a concrete end goal.
You can’t measure personal growth in conventional metrics like you can mark a child’s height on the wall. It doesn’t occur all at once and doesn’t have a limit.
When you commit to implementing easy, small habits, it becomes easier for those bigger life-long habits to develop over time.
Want to be a neater and more organized person, despite your tendency toward clutter? It’s unrealistic to expect that you’ll transform into Marie Kondo overnight. It’s much easier to start making your bed in the morning or clearing off the desk in your home office every night.
As you perform those small actions, you’ll begin to feel a sense of satisfaction. Over time, this will motivate you to look for other areas in your home that could benefit from a daily clean-up. Gradual steps like this can turn you into the tidy person you desire to be.
For a long time, experts believed that all emotions inhibit self-control because they encourage our minds to value immediate pleasure. However, new studies show that certain emotions, including pride, have the opposite effect.
Experts now know that when we feel proud, it motivates our minds to be patient and future oriented. When you find the farthest parking spot or write out your morning to-do list, those small rushes of satisfaction will help sustain you for the long-term reward you know is waiting.
Small Actions That Make the Biggest Difference
You’ve heard it said that a thousand-mile journey starts with a single step. Yet, we can’t be faulted for wanting to run, not walk.
Society tells us that if we can’t get there fast, we shouldn’t go. This mindset keeps so many people frozen in place, intimidated by the long road that leads to change.
What if I told you that you don’t have to walk that road? What if, instead of following the highway in front of you, you could take several side streets leading to an even better destination?
Small actions aren’t glamorous. They aren’t flashy. They aren’t quick fixes. But they will take you where you want to go, as long as you’re willing to stay the course.
Are you ready to embrace transformation and start enforcing healthy changes? Contact me to learn more. I can help you identify where you want to go and show you how to get there. Walking supported makes change easier.