Right now I am reading The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy. It has been a very interesting and eye opening book. My simple summary of the book so far is that little changes over time can add up to eventual big results. Maybe you are thinking "well, tell me something I didn't already know" because that is kind of what I was thinking while reading this book the first day. Sometimes just because we know something intuitively doesn't mean we really KNOW it, or that we pay attention to it and actually apply it to our lives. What I have noticed is that the book is making me really think about and notice the little changes I have made over the past few days. Or rather, the choices I am making at any given moment. I am actually thinking about the choices I am making and not just going through the motions. Just as an example, we went to Lowe's last night to pick up some parts for a project my husband is working on (I'll have to tell you all about that some other time). Well, wouldn't you know the Lowe's is pretty close to the Dairy Queen. In the past we would have stopped by the Dairy Queen for an ice cream treat, even if we weren't really hungry - I mean, its Dairy Queen RIGHT?? It was just what we did, without even thinking about it. A habit really. As we were leaving Loews last night I was thinking about Dairy Queen.....but we didn't go. It was just a small choice I made - one of the probably hundreds of choices I made throughout the day. I chose to stick with my meal plan for the week, my meal plan that didn't include Dairy Queen. And you know what, I didn't miss it (or the accompanying stomachache that I sometimes get when I have that ice cream treat.) Then I started thinking more about that small choice, and how the fact that I made a meal plan for the week was also a small choice. Had I not chosen to make the meal plan, I would have had nothing to guide me or stick to for the week, I would have most likely ended up at Dairy Queen. This lead to thoughts of the choice I made to start creating meal plans each week to help with the budget, the last minute dinner panic, and ultimately my weight loss. Next came the thoughts of the choice I made to join a Beachbody Challenge group in January of this year, where I really learned about how to create a meal plan and what I should be eating to fuel my body. Ultimately it lead to the thoughts of the many small choices I made throughout 2012. Small choices that compounded over time (in this case, a year - 365 days) left me feeling unhappy and several pounds heavier than I was in 2011. Choices that prompted me to make 2013 the year I wanted to get my yo-yo health and fitness habits under control. Small choices/changes over time that lead to big results. The Compound Effect.
The Compound Effect can be applied to anything in your life. Daily practice of an instrument, a language, or a sport will eventually lead to success in a concert solo, fluency, or a maybe a state championship. Small seemingly inconsequential steps now can lead to amazing transformations later. Sure, some people are naturally gifted or talented (or naturally thin and well built)- but for the majority of us we need to work to be successful. The high school wrestler standing at the top of the podium at the state championship didn't just show up and wrestle that day. No, he or she worked day in and day out perfecting their shot, drilling until their muscles ached, participating in tournaments during the off season that others wouldn't go to. Yet, we have a tendency to look at that person and say "Wow, what an amazing accomplishment that they did what they did". As though what they did happened overnight.
The same can be said for weight loss transformations. Sure some of them happen in 90 days (which believe me doesn't seem like overnight if you are at day 50) but some take years. Even if you achieve the success you were hoping to in 90 days, you still have to make those small choices each and every day that will help you continue to be successful. What would cutting 1 can of soda a day do for your weight loss goals? What would cutting out that daily latte do for your budget? What about adding in 10 minutes of walking or adding 1 push up each day to your fitness routine? Doesn't seem like much, but in a month you will have shaved off 4500 calories which is greater than a pound of weight loss. You will have saved $120, burned 1,200 calories walking, and done 30 push ups. Now multiply those numbers by 12, 24, 36 - do you see how these small changes lead to big results over time? Who wouldn't want to be able to lose 46 pounds just by cutting 1 can of soda from their diet, or have over $4,000 in their savings account because they chose to drink coffee at home? Me, me, pick me! I want that! I will remember my choice to bypass Dairy Queen as one of the small steps I made on the road to my big results.
What choices are you making that are shaping your days, your journey, your results?
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