We all want to make it BIG in our lives, Live it LARGE, make an IMPACT.
Have you ever wondered WHY exactly we have this need to make a big difference in the first place?
Because we want our lives to matter something!
Contrary to Freud's view that everything human being's do is for pleasure, Viktor Frankl put forth his view in his book, 'Man's search for meaning.' that human beings need a sense of purpose, belonging, and mission.
The means to do these could be different. It can be anything. Say, to be rich and famous, to be highly successful at work and relations, to have a perfect body and mind, to leave a legacy behind. The list can go on and on.
The question, however, is how exactly do we get what we want? How to make those big differences happen in our lives, our work, and our relations?
Well, every drop finds its way to be the ocean someday. It might as well be that taking small actions everyday can make a big difference for us too.
When actor Will Smith was young, his father once tore down an entire wall and asked Will and his little brother to come up with a new one. Now, how could that possibly happen? After all, they were just kids not knowing anything about building a wall. Well, it took one and a half years for both kids to build that wall. But when they did, the two kids learned a lesson for a lifetime; You don’t start off to build up the biggest-baddest wall on day one. You start by placing one brick at a time in the best possible way a brick can be laid and, soon you would have surmounted the seemingly insurmountable task.
Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement, says James Clear in his book Atomic Habits. Rome wasn’t built in a day. So aren’t champions, and neither are the great minds. It takes years of work to perfect the craft.
Now, we all live in times of instant gratification owing to technological progress. Thanks to Industry 4.0, Most of us struggle through sticking to one thing for long enough to achieve mastery in it. We don’t understand why we need to go through the grind, why take small actions each day when all we can do is go for a big and quick overhaul.
Take the example of personal wellbeing, with all the tasty fast food we consume and strong marketing from the fitness and nutrition industry, We have come to believe that, why to maintain good health and balanced diet when we have so many interesting quick fixes like crash diets or hitting the gym with synthetic products that can transform our body in the year we decide to give it the priority. Well, you sure have that option. But what use is it and how long are these results going to last? How much stress do we put on our bodies to achieve something like that? When all we could have done is simply eat well and consciously each day.
Also thanks to the internet motivational gurus who make it loud and clear to us that massive success comes by taking massive actions. How long can a person take and sustain massive actions? Do we need such a radical overhaul or do we need a consistent but lasting habit?
Small Actions + Long Time = Big difference that’s longlasting and satisfying.
Big actions + Short Time = Big difference + side effects that don’t leave you with a lasting sense of satisfaction.
Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day. – Jim Rohn
Discipline is a word, which arguably everyone as a child has frowned upon. On the contrary, it is also the most highly figured word in almost every successful speech that’s probably out there. Discipline, in its simplest terms, can be understood as a process of sticking to small actions consistently each day, no matter how mundane, that are a part of our daily ritual and that ultimately contribute to the big difference in our lives. Put it as simple as brushing your teeth daily for lifelong sound dental health.
We see a striking resemblance of success stories in any field that emphasize how small steps everyday take you onward to the path of glory.
No champion athlete has ever made it to the top by skipping upon his/her daily practice session.No leader ever reached the pinnacle without walking up the way one step at a time. The compounding effect of those actions did its magic in the end. The Japanese philosophy of KAIZEN (Continuous improvement) sees improvement towards larger goals as a gradual process.
In terms of our relationships as well, small actions like being grateful or even just being there for our loved ones everyday can make a huge difference in making the bond stronger. Want to experience it? Try making a cup of tea once a day for your partner. Go for a walk with your father or have a small chat with your mother and see the magic for yourself.
Small actions taken consistently will help you make it big in whatever area you wish to.
What are these small actions?
Actions so insignificant on their own won’t add any extra burden on your already busy schedule, and that are easily doable. It’s just as small as brushing your teeth.
Why small actions matter?
These small actions tie you up in a routine and create a discipline.
Our generation has experienced maximum comfort and technological advancement as compared to any other generation of the past. Most of us are secure. And that’s what gives us enough freedom to do what we like to do. Yet, we may not have made the most out of the choices at hand. With all the inexpensive data packs available and smart devices, we have started to waste most of our time being unmanaged and binging on series after series on various entertainment platforms. Not to mention the unregulated time we spend on social media. All of this has started to reflect on the mental wellbeing of our generation.
The routine-less life that we have started to live has caused chaos and to an extent has become one of the causes of feeling disinterested in any activity for long.
Take a look at your parents and grandparents. They live by a routine. They may come across as sitting idle and feeling bored but have many little tasks set for themselves for the entire day. This takes care of their physical, mental, and economic wellbeing.
1. Small actions give you a purpose without a sense of urgency.
2.They keep you tied to your long term goals; they keep your mind from wandering aimlessly.
3.They, give you a sense of fulfillment each day. This is particularly important in today’s time as most of us are going to bed clueless about what we did the entire day. Small actions help us look forward to another day.
4. They instill in us qualities like self-awareness, focus, clarity, persistence, and commitment. Make us more disciplined and resilient. All these qualities are important for success.
How do you implement small actions?
1. Figure out an area where you want a make a big difference and then break down the road to get there into as simpler and smaller steps as you can.
2. Say for instance you want to wake up early don’t go overboard by starting off 2 hours early straight away, start with as small as waking up 5 minutes early each day. The same goes for the ones who run late, start arriving 5 minutes earlier than you did before. Slowly without you even noticing, you will find that you now wake up early or now you are the one who figures in the punctual category.
3. Maybe begin by making your bed and slowly move to keep things in place be it at home or the workplace. This small habit will slowly reflect in all aspects of your life.
No one enjoys being indisciplined in all areas of life. Do it to believe it!
Dr. B.J Fogg in his book "Tiny Habits', has created the simplest and easiest way you can create habits that last and transform yourself to make it BIG and have an IMPACT.
To quote Aristotle, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."
- Written By Arundhati Kalane for metomyself.