The Magic of Thinking Small

Can you remember the last resolution you made, let alone kept? Personally, I can only recall one. I resolved to stop drinking soda when I was eleven years old. Now, I ate an average of one hot dog daily and wasn’t an exceptionally health conscious kid, so I’m not sure what exactly inspired me that winter. That small change though is something I am forever grateful I made. The cumulative effects of 17 years without soda are anything but small.

This might be the first article you’ve read that encourages you to downgrade your goals and aspirations for the New Year. By now we’ve all heard that the secret to success lies in thinking big and clarifying goals. If there’s any chatter in your brain about letting this year’s resolution slip, you may be thinking too big. Are the 10 percent of us that keep resolutions a hardier breed, or do they just know how to focus on something that feels within reach? My no soda resolution felt small at the time because I wasn’t depriving myself of something I loved, nor was I taking on the world and committing to work I wasn’t willing to do.

Think about a single area of your life that you want to improve. If it’s health, does a daily workout feel exhilarating or exhausting, or just plain impossible? Can you instead, eat one more homemade meal per week, or take the stairs at work?
If it’s your home, how does “getting organized” feel, especially if you’ve been cluttered for years? Can you simply commit to clearing off the dining room table each night or opening mail as soon as it comes in the door?
If it’s your finances, how does “make x amount of dollars” feel when you wince at the balance in your checkbook? Can you start to track your spending, or set a small amount of money aside every month?

Reducing your vision to a single activity that you can realistically conquer every day isn’t lazy, it’s the only place to start. The trickle down effects will astound you. Until your loftiest goals are translated into empowering actions that you can master, there will always be a healthier, wealthier, more organized version of you always waiting to debut the next New Year.