The Power of Small Changes

So I opened a retirement account this morning. It's a strange feeling planning so far into the future (I can't touch the account without penalties for almost 40 years), but I've learned there's a very good reason for it; namely, that small changes over a long interval can make an enormous difference.

That got me wondering about the power of small, consistent changes in how we do things. Call them habits if you will. Small changes in habit are usually easy to make, primarily because they're small and don't require much effort. Staying consistent also isn't usually hard, because the demands for time are so miniscule.

Yet small, consistent changes over time have the potential to make a real difference. Consider, a musician who spends just 2 minutes on technique drills at the beginning or the end of every practice session accumulates about one hour of focused technique work every month (assuming they play everyday). That's approximately 12 hours a year, and 120 hours a decade. That's just 2 minutes a day. Now imagine doing technique drills for  5 minutes a day instead. That's 2.5 hours a month, 30 hours a year, and 300 hours per decade.

As the above example illustrates, large transformations don't necessarily require huge stockpiles of will-power and grit. They just need a little of both, consistently and at the right time. This is good, you know, because while many people don't have an abundance of will or grit, they usually have some (however small), and making use of that finite capacity each day is one way they can make a big change in their life. You don't have to be a superman to make a big change; you just have to use what you've got in a consistent, well-understood manner. Something to consider anyway.

Happy Friday, friends :)

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it with others. Many thanks!