One Little Thing That Changed My Life

There is one common misconception that hinders many of us in life. It seems to us that in order to achieve something worthwhile, firstly, we need to initially have some favorable conditions for it, and secondly, we must exert all powers. For example, in order to have a beautiful slender body, we think we should torment ourselves with strict diets and many hours of intense workouts. And anyways, nothing will help if we are prone to put on weight or our hormones are out of order, etc. Or another example. To learn a foreign language, we should have an aptitude for languages and we have to?study long and hard.

Such tasks seem so overwhelming and/or unrealistic that it is better not even to attempt.

That is why fairy tales about magic wands, magic pills or any other quick fix that will miraculously make us immediately beautiful, educated, rich, etc. are so popular.

In fact, this magic cure exists, but it is so insignificant that it is often not taken seriously. And it is so simple and small that it’s easier not to do it at all.

There is one proverb which is considered as folk wisdom and can be found in every culture. The phrase itself may differ, but the meaning remains the same. A little goes a long way. Little strokes fell great oaks. A drop hollows out a stone. Water dripping day by day wears the hardest rock away.

It is believed that this aphorism has a very specific author. Proverbial invocation of dripping water goes back at least to the fifth-century BGC epic poet Choerilus of Samos. One of the lines of his poem outlived its author for many centuries:

with persistence a drop of water hollows out the stone

The point is that a slow, even if small force, but constant forward movement, can lead to the desired goal. The most convincing proof of this is smooth pebbles on the seashore; it is difficult to believe that they were once large and dangerous fragments of rocks.

Of course, I have a million examples of how a little went a long way:

• To keep their skin perfect, one should just wash their face daily and use a good face cream.
• A new foreign language can be learned in a matter of months from scratch and up to a confident intermediate level with just 20 minutes of daily practice.
• To have a normal weight, it is enough to slightly adjust the diet and do light exercise for 20-30 minutes a day. That is, no need to torment yourself with some kind of strict short-term diets and hours of HIIT workouts. Just eat moderately and have a balanced diet and take daily half-hour walks.
• To read dozens of books a year, it is enough to devote at least 10 minutes a day to reading, but do it every day.
• My favorite advice from James Altucher. To get creative, you need to train this muscle ― you need to come up with and write down 10 ideas every day. On any topic. Everyday.

Hopefully you've noticed what all these examples have in common. You need to move towards your goals every day if you want to get there. You can take very small steps, but you have to take them every day.

For example, just open a book and read one paragraph. Read another one the next day. Perhaps you will get carried away and next time it will not be one paragraph, but a page or even a whole chapter. Even if it's just a paragraph, It's still better than nothing. At the very least, in a year it will be one book, but it's no longer zero.

Another example is about how I decided to do yoga every day. Sometimes there is a right mood, enough time and energy to do it. And sometimes there are days when I don't feel like it at all. On a day like this, I think that's ok if I miss just the one time. But then I remember the importance to show up every day. I get changed and take out my yoga mat. The hardest part is over. I'm on the mat. Sometimes it's just five minutes. But this is no longer zero. In a year it will be at least 30 hours of yoga.

Think about what you want to achieve in a year? Make an action plan and take at least one step, but do it daily. One is better than zero. Consistent daily effort counts. With each passing day, the results will accumulate, and they will ultimately lead you to your goal.