The Compound Effect

I saw an old friend at the gym the other morning. She asked with shock "How LONG are you going to run today???" I answered with "I am only doing five today". With almost a defeated response she said, "I only did two".

I thought to myself, "only!?" and proceded to tell her that was awesome. Really though, that is great, two miles isn't a little defeat, it is kinda big. And that can be just the beginning. People often think that the little they do isn't good enough, but it is. Real life changes take time, little by little, precept on precept. Who freaking cares if you only run a mile, or a half mile, or if you just walk it! As long as you are progressing little by little thats all that matters.

If I tried to be who I am today when I was this stinking cute then I would have been a crazy child. Well, an even CRAZIER child...

I was so stinking cute right?

ANYWAYS, I listen to a book called "The Compound Effect" by Darren Hardy. It is all about how making small changes help create long lasting habits. Often times when wanting to make a big change in our life we want to see results right away and so we tend to jump into crazy things. We push ourselves to run 10 miles the first time we jump on the treadmill, or we refuse to eat like a normal person, or we put way too much time into reading a book, or any new hobby and we burn out quickly.

Darren uses a good example, would you rather get 3 million dollars today, or would you take a penny that doubles everyday? Well, if you're smart you know that the penny only after a few short weeks will actually be of more value.

LITTLE BY LITTLE

LINE UPON LINE

You don't need to do anything crazy to make your life better. Start with something little today. Me, I am just going to give up soda for 21 days, no more, no less. What small changes do you want to make? Maybe you want to run for just 2 min longer, or cut 100 calories out of your diet, or read just 5 pages out of a good book. Start today with something little and in time you will see big changes!

If your looking for a new book to read or listen to that will help you on the path of creating and keeping new good habits, I would suggest getting this!