A Few Millimetres is all it Takes

After numerous conversations on social media and in a face-to-face fashion, I realise that many people believe that they need to make substantial changes in their lives and approaches in order to achieve all that they desire.

I am here to tell you that this is not true, hence the title of this piece. If you have made the decision that you will fight for what you want, that is already a big step forward that you have taken. If you have been unsuccessful at obtaining the result(s) that you wanted through your approach, that is not a bad thing since you simply need to adjust your strategy.

Whether a big modification or some fine-tuning, a few millimetres is really all it takes. Let me give you some three examples proving my point.

Basketball

When I was younger and during my school years, all of us used to spend whatever free time that we had in between classes playing basketball. In the beginning I was not particularly good at it, missing most of my shots, whether they were close to the basket or far away. In addition to playing basketball during our free time, we obviously played it during our physical education classes.

It was that one day that we were playing a match, the class being divided into two opposing teams. I always liked taking the free-throw type of shots and I was always so close to scoring every time but as you may have guessed; I missed every attempt. During that particular match our gym teacher called for a time-out and came to me. He said the following words to the class that still remain so clear to me: “Look here students, Rami never gives up at free-throws even though he misses all the time (he said this in a humorous tone), let me show him something.” He had turned to me and said that my technique was perfect, however the teacher pointed to the hoop. As I focused on the hoop, the teacher told me that I always need to aim as if the basket is higher than it actually is, by a few millimetres. Thus, I immediately started scoring every free-throw shot and became known as “Mister Three-Points”.

Plastic Surgery

In Dubai, the United Arab Emirates; I have a friend who is a plastic surgeon. He has made substantial amounts of money through altering the physical appearance of the wealthiest individuals. During a particular discussion I had asked him whether it was risky performing such complex and elaborate procedures.  This doctor then showed me a book that he had written and published for the local market, to teach other aspiring plastic surgeons how to do a good job. As I turned the pages of this book there were nothing but images of faces with measurements on each face constituting only a few millimetres difference between the natural and the altered.

My friend told me that everyone always thinks that performing such operations requires drastic alterations to the natural face, when in reality that the only required modification is the distance between the top lip and the bottom of the nose, here again requiring only millimetres to render the face absolutely beautiful. Only a few millimetres?

Incantations

I am a big believer in using incantations to influence a positive state-of-mind. I use them constantly to prime myself for happiness and success, as well as teaching my clients of their significance and impact. One thing that I would like to point out though is that I specifically focus on incantations and not affirmations.  In my view affirmations do not bring any value because if you keep telling yourself that you are happy while your physiology says otherwise, you are wasting your time and energy, in addition to potentially pushing people away from you.

Let me give you a scenario. Whether you are seated or standing up, place yourself in front of a mirror. Take the deepest possible breath while thinking of something or someone bringing you the highest joy. As you do this, you will notice that your physiology will be upright, firm and full of confidence as if you were standing in military formation. After this stage, obviously you should exhale. What do you notice here? When you exhale your torso and body leans slightly forward, and your head may also be inclined downward.

Take a moment to analyse the difference between when you were inhaling and positively thinking, and then when you exhaled. Specifically, your torso position shifted by a few millimetres. This is only a minor difference yet yielding a major change in body language and physiological spirit.

I hope that you realise after the above three examples that a few millimetres is really all it takes to take you from where you are now to where you dream and potentially could be. Making those tiny adjustments is all it takes, leading to a massive impact on your life as well as those around you.