The Endless Victory: The Importance of Starting Small

Making a change in your life can be demanding.

Starting any new change requires an open mind.

Have you tried before?

Making lots of changes and they never really stuck with you? Thoughts are often the source of this problem.

When I first started a new habit I would exhaust my mental state by living all the effort required to actually do what I planned doing. By the time I wanted to start I lost all my motivation. I tired myself out thinking of all the effort and time required and just eventually quit. I wanted to make a significant change from the beginning but there was no foundation. This was when I need I needed to re-evaluate my options.

Some get stuck in a job they don’t like, feel unmotivated, doubt themselves, feel lost, and procrastinate.

It feels like too much, and often we find that we just don’t know where to start.

It doesn’t matter. Just start.

And start as small as you can.

You won’t fix everything in your life in one day.

In life, you first start by crawling before you can begin to walk, and then even run.

To accomplish anything, you need to start somewhere, no matter how exceptionally small.

What you can do

Take a walk, clean your room, exercise, write, read, meditate, eat a healthy meal. Pick anything related to your interests.

Whatever you have picked, write it down.

Make yourself a list.

Write it down so you have something to reference back to. This way you know it’s more than just a thought you had at some point, and won’t forget about it.

It doesn't matter how long you do it for, but just do it.

Enjoy it.

It can be as short as 2 minutes.

Then you can start with the next one whenever you feel comfortable. Go at your own pace. Be present with what it is that you’re doing and focus on it.

This is about building a foundation of action.

By continually doing something small you create a habit of action. With time, your scope starts to widen, allowing you to take on bigger and more challenging habits.

For example, I started meditating for 3 minutes and slowly worked up to 30 minute sessions. All because I started small.

Focus on one small change in your life.

While all of us may want a sudden change initially, focusing on what you can do today will allow you to continually progress.

Focus on working with what is present in your life instead of what isn't.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
~Lao Tzu

Forget the end goal

You’re thinking of how your life could be and missing how it is. You cannot change what is not present. You can only change what is present.

Whatever you are doing, apply all of your focus.

Really immerse yourself.

Everyone has to start somewhere. otherwise, you’ll remain stuck.

A small victory is the start to endless victories.

Until next time,

Dragos Bernat

This post originally appeared on: https://selfhabit.com/the-endless-victory/