I want to make an analogy.
In life, we look over the importance of the small things far too often. The other day, I was taking care of my backyard, and as I looked at my flowerbed, I noticed how overgrown by weeds my flowerbed was. For anyone who follows me, you know that even though I'm not a master gardener, I love flowers and I love gardening. When I noticed all the weeds in my flowerbed, I knew something had to change. My son and I picked up all the weeds, the grass, and the excess stuff that didn't belong around the flowers. By the time we were done, it looked like a completely new flowerbed. Even though we hadn't changed the flowers at all—we'd just picked up the little things—my flowerbed looked like it had been reborn.
In life, we often misinterpret the process as a few huge changes we have to make. More often than not, the reality is something different entirely. Rather than making a handful of big changes, most of us need to make a lot of small ones. There are little things dragging all of us down, filling us with stress, and keeping us from peace. We keep all kinds of toxicity in our lives, from toxic people to toxic situations to our own toxic mindsets. Most of us know what to do in order to change.
If knowing was even half the battle, change would be easy.
In reality, the hardest part is actually changing. Letting go of people is hard, and letting go of habits is hard. It's one thing to want to be more fit, but it's another to wake up early to exercise every morning. It's one thing to want a better body, but it's another to eat right consistently. The small changes lead to big ones, so stop falling in the trap of thinking your obstacles are too large.
There are going to be many trials you experience within your personal journey. That being said, it's easier to commit to many small changes for two reasons. First, it's realistic. You can't choose to be fit in a day, but you can choose to eat healthy and get better sleep. You can choose to exercise, and you can choose to give yourself the resources you need to succeed. In the end, you absolutely have the choice to be fit, through many small choices.
Second, you'll have no choice but to succeed. Stop using unrealistic expectations as a crutch, and stop making goals you know are unrealistic. Instead, I want you to map out your progress. I use the word 'map' because personal progress is a never-ending journey with thousands of little pit stops.
It all starts with you.
