How has your first month of 2018 been so far? Is it going the direction you hope 2018 will go?
If not, don’t be discouraged.
I set out this year to start waking up early. I’m talking 5:30-6:00am early. I’ve succeeded a few days so far, but it’s not going as I hoped.
Building new habits is hard. What I’ve been finding helpful is starting small. Like lots of you, I’m sure, I’m trying to go to the gym more often this year.
I’ve set a very specific goal for myself: go to the gym 1 time per week.
ONE TIME? Yes. WHY ONLY ONE TIME?
It’s the power of incremental growth. I know I get overwhelmed with trying to take on more than I can at once. But let’s put it this way - going to the gym ONE time per week is better than going ZERO times. And once I get comfortable in the rhythm of going once, I can add a second day. Then a third. Or something else beneficial to my health.
I realize in my experience with the gym I was too ambitious to get up early EVERY day. Instead, I’m going to try getting up early ONE day a week. Then TWO. Then THREE. Because habits are built on small, repetitive actions.
If you’re struggling moving forward on your goals, take a step back and honestly ask yourself, “Am I trying to do too much at once?”
Small, sustainable progress is better than trying to do it all at once.