Radically Transform Your Life By Making One Tiny Change

I get easily distracted. Shiny objects, pretty blog themes, and social notifications are my kryptonite. So when I tell you that you can radically transform your culture one decision at a time, know that this is the voice of painful, failure-ridden experience talking.

Save Your Starts For Mondays

It takes A LOT for me to get moving, so I time my new ventures to coincide with events that will help me see it through. For example, I don’t try to start ANY new habits Tuesday – Sunday. It’s Monday or bust. First Monday of the month? Even better. First Monday of the new year? The absolute best.

Change feels more official when it begins on a first. Without this help, I find it much easier to feel lazy and chalk the idea of doing something new as a “fad” or “just another hair-brained idea”. Without that added bonus of beginning on a Monday, it’s more of a casual everyday decision. I don’t know about you, but I don’t get ANYTHING done when I handle life casually. So Mondays it is.

Start Small. No REALLY Small.

Big changes come from doing small things over and over and developing new habits. Imagine how different you will be when at the end of the first year you’ve implemented 12 changes to your lifestyle and habits! This is radical life-changing stuff we’re talking about.

But most people who don’t see it through bail because they aim too high. Yes, this is the point when I tell you to get your head out of the clouds and focus on much smaller routine shifts.

What qualifies as a small shift?

Any number of things qualify. Here’s a few ideas to get you started…

• Wake up 15 minutes earlier, make a cup of coffee, and meditate.

• Take 5 minutes to thank God for your spouse, children, friends, job, latest victory, current provision

• Add a leafy green vegetable to lunch every single day

• Wear blue blocker glasses after 7PM every evening

• Turn off wifi on phone and router before bed each night

• Call your mom/dad every Sunday and ask about their week

• Read 10 pages per day in a book you’ve been meaning to read

• Stretch for 10 minutes before you get dressed in the morning

• Spend your lunch breaks in the sun whenever weather permits

If this list doesn’t appeal to you, that’s okay. It’s not your job to do what I would do. It’s up to you to listen to your gut, your intuition, your conscience, and do the 1st thing that comes to you. Small shifts change lives. 

Just to give you an idea of how small the shift can be, I’ll tell you my latest small shift.

FLOWER ESSENCES. Yes, that’s how manly I am. I have determined within myself to put 4-6 drops of flower essences in every glass of water I drink all day long. If you’re wondering what the heck I’m talking about, I’ll tell you in an upcoming post. But the point for today is that my change is using a liquid dropper and putting four tiny drops of liquid into my glass of water.

Will it transform my life? Maybe. But I’m not counting on one new shift changing my life all by itself. It’s about building momentum. My shift for this month starts a snowball of change. When next month rolls around, I’ll be in the habit of using flower essences all the time, and I won’t have to think about it anymore. Then I’ll add something else to my life in addition. One change will improve my mood and my positive attitude. That slight shift enables me to speak with thankfulness. That shift enables me to see people differently and choose to listen more. That shift opens up my channel of empathy. And before you know it, the snowball has grown so large that I’m rolling on a whole new level.

Week upon week, month upon month, year upon year. It’s radical cultural change one tiny choice at a time.

What will YOU choose?