The Little Guide to Starting Small
Every lasting change that I’ve made has started with one small step. I’ve made my share of “go big or go home” moves, but after awhile my momentum waned and the new habits faded. In the last five or six years, I wised up. My changes have been slow and deliberate, instead of fast and furious.
Life changes all the time, so we have to change too. We can’t treat our bodies like we are 22 when we are 42. We can’t be as self serving as we were before we had children. We can’t ignore the health implications of diet and lifestyle when we know so much. We can’t work soulless jobs when we know they are killing us. We can choose to change or we can wait until we don’t have a choice.
How often have you considered making a change and then thought …
- “It will take to long”
- “I don’t know if it will work”
- “People will think I’m weird”
- “Someone else already did it better than I can”
- “I’m not ready”
- “I don’t want to”
- “I could never do that”
- “Why bother, If it ain’t broke…”
I’ve used every excuse in the book and hope that I can save you the trouble of working through them on your own. Excuses typically aren’t well thought out, reasonable objections, but instead, an expression of fear to change.
I hope this will help you take those excuses off the table.
“It will take too long.” It will take just as long regardless of the start date. If you start today, you’ll be in a better place next year. If you start in five years, you’ll be in a better place in six. Right now is the right time.
“I don’t know if it will work.” You’ll never know until you try. If it doesn’t work, find another way.
“People will think I’m weird.” People will think you are weird and that won’t kill you.
“Someone else already did it better than I can.” Ask them how they did it. Learn from them and then do it your way, ’cause you can get better at anything you want. You have one thing that no one else has. Your life experience and your uniqueness.
“I’m not ready.” You will never be ready because you don’t know what you don’t know until you get started.
“I don’t want to” You don’t have to want to. Instead, want something as a result. For instance, you don’t want to give up sugar, but you want to be healthier.
“I could never do that” Of course you can. Breathe. You’ve got this.
“Why bother, If it ain’t broke.” It is broken.
With any change that you make, you must be kind to yourself. This intentional change may be new territory and no one said it would be easy. You aren’t perfect and you can’t control everything. Things will get in your way. You will get in your own way. That’s ok. It’s part of the process.
- Allow for the ebb and flow of your motivation and dedication. There will be a day that you feel like giving up. It will pass.
- Ask for support, but don’t rely on it. This is your life and you can’t expect a team of cheerleaders for every move you make.
- Don’t wait until you’re ready. Extensive planning, lengthy spread sheets and thoughts of starting tomorrow are all your way of resisting change.
Pick one of the following changes or make up your own and start small today.
Debt
Paying off debt gives you the freedom to make decisions based on something besides money. This is the exact formula I used for getting out of debt:
- Read The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.
- Save $1000 in an emergency fund.
- Write down all of your debt, except for your house payment. Keep up monthly payments on all bills but put more towards the smallest debt. Some will argue that you should pay the debt with the highest interest rate first, but I disagree. Pay off the smallest debt first and let the joy of accomplishment motivate you to pay the next. Start small and knock them out, one by one.
Dave offers other steps, but this is all you need to know to successfully pay down all of your debt. This doesn’t happen overnight, but when it happens, it’s worth every minute spent.
Clutter
Becoming Clutter free takes time. It often involves three steps forward and one step back. Start with one box and the corner of one room, or a table top or counter top. Clear the area donating or trashing that you don’t need. Declare that space your clutter-free zone. Pretend that anything that touches that area will go up in smoke, and be vigilant about keeping it clutter free. Enjoy the empty space, and use the feeling of clarity from an uncluttered space to give you the momentum to start another area. Read the Clutterfree book that I wrote with Leo Babauta in between decluttering to learn why you have that clutter in the first place and how to get rid of it for good.
Diet
What do you want to change about your diet? I wanted to stop eating meat, but it didn’t happen overnight. I stopped eating beef and pork first. After a few months, I dropped poulty and then 2 years later, I stopped eating fish and seafood. Today, I am happy to say, I don’t eat anything with a mother. If for health or other reasons, you want to make a dramatic change in your diet, start with a small change. When the change becomes “the new normal”, start working on the next small change.
Work
Are you doing meaningful work? Be careful how you answer the question. Meaningful can be a variety of things. Things like creating art, saving lives, inspiring others, feeding your family or employing other people. Starting a new career or business is scary stuff, but the rewards are amazing when you find the right thing for you.
If you find that right thing and decide to leave your current job, take slow, deliberate action to move towards it.
- How much money do you need (not want) to make to change your work situation? If you are debt free, this part is easier.
- Brainstorm revenue streams. This may not apply if you are taking a salaried or hourly position. Write those revenue streams down and see where the money will come from. Reading Smalltopia by Tammy Strobel helped me think that through. Also read Your Money or Your Life.
- Start saving. Set aside 2 or 3 months of living expenses so that you don’t feel pressured to make your new business perform overnight. If you are leaving a good paying job to go out on your own, you will hustle.
- Don’t marry your business plan. If you decide to work for yourself, give your business the flexibility to evolve and change.
- Dump bad ideas. If you are starting your own business. You will have amazing ideas, life changing ideas and crappy ideas. Don’t be afraid to let the crap go so you can focus on the amazing.
You might have to build your business while you are still working a day job. While you think that may be exhausting, if you are building a business that excites you, you will have more energy than you think.
The changes I’ve made are universal to some degree or another. Who doesn’t want to pay off debt, eat healthier, or become clutter-free? Once I made those changes, I had the confidence to quit my job and start my own small business.
Adapting easily to change is a great skill to have in life and business. The best way to get more comfortable with change is to initiate it. Don’t wait for life to happen to you. Have reasonable expectations and remember that overnight success typically takes years. Start small and the result will be life changing.
Lastly and most importantly, remember that life goes on while you are making changes. You can’t put things on hold until you are out of debt, skinnier, healthier or in a better mood. Life is happening right now and it is up to you, regardless of circumstances to choose how will experience it. Don’t wait. Choose lovely.
What change are you going to make? Let me know if you need help with the first small step.
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21 Responses to “The Little Guide to Starting Small”
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Something that I use is living without regrets. Some things are hard to do, some things are scary to do, but if I try and fail that is much better than not trying at all. I am debt, clutter and meat free but I am still working on the work part. I will have to look up those books you mentioned. I wrote about how changes are hard yesterday
What is crazy is it seems hard when you start making small changes. When you look back on it, typically it doesn’t seem big or hard at all. Decluttering especially 
Awesome accomplishments Lorilee!
Great post. People need to be brave and take the small steps necessary towards change. Like MLK said, “you don’t have to see the whole stairway, just the first step”.
Change will happen to us, whether we like it or not. It’s how you embrace it , and see the big picture which will dictate how you respond to external influences in life.
So true Jeff! It’s probably better not to see the whole stairway as it seems to change throughout the journey.
Exactly, the view from the top is usually a lot different than we originally planned!
You are inspiring and inspired! Just “met” you through Nancy at Spirit Lights the Way. I read your guest post on Warren’s blog and am following yours now.
But I am trying…one drawer, shelf and closet at a time.
I read a book that gave 5 different types of clutterers…and unfortunately, my husband and I are ALL FIVE.
Your advice is spot-on and motivating. Thank you!
Vivian, One at a time is an awesome strategy.
Very good. One small step at a time and before you know it you can be debt free, have spare time, get by without fretting over all the material things. For me it was simpler living in the country. City living brings too many temptations and distractions and dependency on others. The country for me was simpler mostly being able to be self sufficient, relaxed and enjoy life.
I’ve really enjoyed your and Leo’s tips on being clutter free. My wife and I are staying mindful of keeping only what we need, use, or enjoy, and our condo is progressively looking more lean and clean.
I find it interesting how being clutter free, eating healthy, and having healthy finances all sort of go together. It’s about mindfulness and how being organized begets more organization. Great stuff!
Paul, They all do go together. Conquering one gives you the energy and motivation to move on to the next.
So many changes I have made especially in the last year, but I do find there are things I need to continually work on. One of them being clutter. I’ve stopped buying things I don’t need and keep anything new coming into our home at a real minimum which is great, BUT I tend to let things pile up on my desk, set things down and not put them away, not finish the laundry all the way… that type of thing.
Just in the last week I have started at it in small bite size chunks and within a weeks’ time I notice a difference. Posts like these keep me going.
Aloha wags!
I have been working on small changes lately. How do you overcome the urge to take on to mny changes at once?
Jesse, That is one of my biggest struggles. I’ll write more about it soon, but it takes practice and the ability to say “no, not yet”. (even to yourself)
The big changes I’m trying to make right now is how our family eats (trying for more whole foods) and reducing our waste. This post is so encouraging and goes hand in hand with Leo’s post today at Zen Habits. I can do this – one step at a time.
My life work or personal ministry is through the work of Compassion International – their motto is to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Their second motto is one child at a time. I’ve taken this to heart and rejoice over each new child I see sponsored….it’s always a step in the right direction.
Debt Free – check! Meat Free – check! Clutter Free – Hmmmm. I am only now considering that. And truthfully my first take was “Clutter? Who cares? How can that possibly be important?” But then I realized that clutter is the non-contributing residue of all my previous experiences. It ties me to the past. Now that is not all bad. Given the opportunity to hit an erase button on my memory banks I would resist. But when I surround myself with useless ‘stuff’ to remind me of where I have been, I make it very difficult to get to where I am going, and no, I don’t know where that is yet. And that brings up your fourth item: Work. Financially it is of no consequence to me. But mentally, emotionally and spiritually it is. My goal? Become a world class landscape photographer. I can’t do that sitting in my condo. The condo in fact has become part of the clutter. I have my immediate work cut out for me. Wish me luck!
@Richard – “But when I surround myself with useless ‘stuff’ to remind me of where I have been, I make it very difficult to get to where I am going”
This is so true. Living in the past,for the most part, only brings grief. If it’s stuff from a good time….you miss that good time and feel bad.
If it’s from a bad time, it reminds you of it.
This makes it difficult to look forward to the present and future and evolve.
… start with a small change. When the change becomes “the new normal”, start working on the next small change.
Wise words… small efforts can make huge differences in a relatively short amount of time. This general idea applies to each of the various topics you have highlighted. However most folks don’t have the patience to try this approach as they are looking for instant success or gratification. Yet again the turtle wins the race!
Great post! This applies to everything, whether you’re talking about mental health, physical health, economic health… You can’t start a marathon by running top speed through the starting line, if you expect to finish.
Though, you know… Vegetables also reproduce. Just saying. O:>
I have been trying to get the house clutter-free for years. With 4 kids under 12, and the youngest only 2, this is becoming an excercise in frustration. I clean up, they make a mess. I get them to help clean up, they still mess it up 5 minutes later.
And because the main living areas were taking all the time, the rest of the house was slowly falling apart.
Time for a new strategy. I more or less ignored the mess in the rest of the house for a week, and finally got my bedroom all tidied up and sorted out and vaccuumed and everything. And I can keeep it that way, and at the end of a crazy day I have a haven to retreat to with my husband.
And, slowly, there is starting to be a trickle-down effect to the rest of the house!
Great piece! This post really resonated with me. As someone who feels that she is constantly “in progress” the changes I want to make in my life can sometimes seem overwhelming. Whenever they do, I usually take a step back (make a cup of tea), and try to break them down into more manageable tasks. Taking the time to do this has given me clarity I never had before.
This doesn’t mean I don’t mess up…a lot, but knowing I can pick back up with one small step makes the times I do falter not feel so bad!