A brand new year is usually seen by lots of people as the ideal moment for making a big leap, for embracing change, for choosing something different, for doing better. For going big, from day one, and changing everything at once like there's no tomorrow.
And yet you don't need me to tell you that most people don't stick to the big plans they did and quit after some weeks or even just some days of this "big changes" strict diet.
Big changes don't happen overnight. They happen over time.
Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better.
Don’t wish for fewer problems, wish for more skills.
Don’t wish for less challenges, wish for more wisdom.
John Earl Shoaff [1916-1965]
Think about what you want to change. Ask yourself why and above all what for and then, if you are sure that this change is really important to you, and if you are willing to go the extra mile. If the honest answer is yes, well, then, go for it!
["Do not hurry; do not rest" is a very popular quote by Goethe,
similar to Lao Tzu's one:
"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished"
"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished"
Both gentlemen are so right]
How?
Ask yourself which and how many baby steps can bring you a little bit closer to your goal. Just a little bit closer. And then a little bit more.
Pick one of those steps and do something very small. Just start.
And then do it again the day after. And then the day after. And then the day after. And the day after, and so on, until this tiny little step for your change will become part of your day to day life and you will not perceive it as a change any longer. It will be part of you, one of your rituals, one of your habits.
Start small, and be consistent. Being consistent is the key.
Goethe would agree.
Do you want to change? Start small.
Even today, if you want.
The day on which you start doesn't really matter. All the days in which you will keep going with no excuses, they will matter.
Happy new year, everyone.
Tags: Making a change, New habits, Keeping up with change
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