Change One Thing

Read time: Approximately 3 minutes

New Years has come and gone and quite likely, many New Year’s Resolutions.

If you are one of the lucky few still holding strong to your resolutions, I applaud you.

If you have already given up or you decided to forgo making a resolution at all, there is hope.

Why is change so hard?

As an example, take my desire to eat more of a Mediterranean style diet.

It is a worthy goal. One I have stated and started more than once. I have bought, read and given away more than one book on the subject.

Overhauling my entire way of eating quickly overwhelms me. Sooner rather than later I give up and revert to my old eating habits.

Do I lack will power?

Possibly, (well, yes, to be honest 😊) but that isn’t the main reason. Changing my entire diet all at one time is simply too much.

Too often we fail simply because we set the bar so high and proceed to try and reach it in one big jump.

Setting the bar high is a good thing. Trying to reach it in one big jump often results in simply falling flat.

Making significant changes in our lives can be as simple as changing one thing.

For example, how difficult could it be to prepare a Mediterranean based breakfast?

A quick Google search assures me that, yes, a Mediterranean based breakfast is relatively simple. It is definitely something which I could easily and quickly incorporate into my normal routine.

Initially changing just one thing, what I eat for breakfast , would set me up for more probable success.

Our lives tend to be a tightly woven fabric made up of routines and habits.

Making one small change allows time to weave the new habit and/or routine into the fabric of our lives.

Once the new habit or routine becomes ingrained and part of our daily living, then it’s time to move on to the next one thing.

But is one thing really enough?

Think about what happens when you throw coins in a jar. You may only throw in a few cents here and there but eventually, if you allow enough time, you can cash in the coins for hundreds of dollars.

Over time, changing one thing and then another one thing will have the same effect. At some point, you will realize that you have made large changes with minimal effort.

And if you fail at the one thing?

It is so much easier to get back on track when you can trace the failure back to a targeted “one thing”.

When my house gets completely out of control I can easily and quickly get back on track by going back to my “one thing” housekeeping rule: Clean the kitchen every night.

If you have tried and failed to make large changes in your life, it might be time to reassess and realize that, for now, it is only necessary to change one thing.