blog > Useful Small Steps

Small steps are the most useful tool. Just be consistent.

Why small steps are useful

New Year’s resolutions, boot camps, inspirational speakers, daily affirmations, diets… Why they don’t work and what to do instead:

There are two problems. Either we just expect to wake up with a great attitude and be a new person (and are disappointed and give up when that doesn’t happen). Or we see meaningful change as an insurmountable challenge so we don’t bother trying.

The reality is, it’s not very difficult but it does take some time. And most importantly, it takes consistency. A little bit every day will always beat trying to do everything all at once.

Do you have a vegetable garden? Do you dump all the water the veggies will ever need all at once? Probably not…that requires too much water. And it doesn’t work. So you give them what they need every day. Consistently. We are the same.

So what’s your goal? Take a *small* step and do it consistently. When you’re ready, take the next step. But do it consistently. And if you’re not 100% consistent, that’s ok. We all have bad days. Just get back to it tomorrow.

If your motivation wanes, go back to the reason for which you started down this path. It must have been important otherwise you wouldn’t have started. Put yourself back in that mindset. What was it like? Were you excited? Desperate? Remind yourself that every little bit you do towards your goal, the closer you get to it. And that it doesn’t need to happen overnight and that overnight isn’t realistic. Maybe it will take 5 years. That’s cool, just keep taking small steps towards your goal. Because in 5 years you will have what you want. Or, you can do nothing and in 5 years you will still have nothing.

What about setbacks? Guess what, setbacks should be EXPECTED. Always. They are the norm. When a setback comes along, roll with knowing that’s it’s all part of the process. Having setbacks means you’re *moving forward*. The only way to avoid setbacks is to do nothing.

Consistently taking the small steps that are good for us / for our circumstances is how meaningful change happens.