The Little Things Matter

Life, Money and Gratitude #5 The Little Things Matter

"Every action you take is a a vote for the type of person you wish to be." James Clear

---

Itty bitty steps

Did you make a new years resolution this year? How long did it last? Not long? Maybe instead of looking at the end result, a large goal, you start with the little things that you can adjust. The itty bitty steps that you can easily do. Let's say for this example you want to wake up an hour early to start your day off with exercise, gratitude and meditation. But, the thought of waking up early makes you want to stick your tongue out and say "Blah!". What if we changed it to something simple like getting up one minute earlier, just one minute earlier, you can do that. Instead of an exercise routine you do one push, instead of a long list of things you are grateful for you say a three word prayer like "Thank You God", instead of a long meditation, you think of one thought that puts a smile on your face. It only takes one minute, it's a very doable action you can take. Now see if you can create a streak, how many days in a row can you wake up one minute earlier, check each day off on a calendar. Try the itty bitty approach to whatever project or goal your trying to achieve. A tiny action step to start with and then you can always add more later.

---

Falling off

I was doing really good following a morning routine that I created for myself and then I fell off. It all started with this ad I saw for a "7 Minute Workout" I thought to myself, seven minutes, I can do that, and for two months I did. I woke up a half hour early each day and did the workout, then one day I overslept, no exercise, I had no contingent plan to "make up" the exercise later in the day or the next day so I didn't. That led to another day of sleeping late then a week, then a month. By this time I felt like a failure, such a small goal that I couldn't do, why couldn't I just stick with it? At this time I had to mentally shake myself. Restart! What little thing could I do? Can I start with a one minute workout? Yup, and I did. Will I be able to keep it up? Maybe, but I know I can always restart.

---

Atomic Habits

James Clear in his book Atomic Habits has put together one of the simplest and most approachable guides to setting up a personal system and creating habits. It talks about the little things and becoming 1% better and how over a period of time that 1% compounds and snowballs into huge results. He talks about the importance of your environment and how you can be the architect of your surroundings. I strongly suggest reading the book.

Check out James Clear's short video on his website linked below.

Atomic Habits

Until next time, God Bless and be well.

The Little Things Matter

M. Joseph Benric is the author of Graduation Gift ,A Step-By-Step Guide to Financial Literacy for Young Adults