Small Changes Big Results
It’s a matter of timing
I was reading a recent post by my friend Michele Thill when I noticed her logo included the words “Shift Happens.” It reminded me of a movie that Dr. Wayne Dyer produced titled “The Shift.” In it, we meet a hard-driving producer trying to make a documentary about Dr. Dyer. As the film progresses, the producer encounters many obstacles but gradually succumbs to Dr. Dyer’s peaceful, contemplative lifestyle. The Shift happens to him. By the end of the movie, the producer has become a softer, gentler person whose ability to embrace life has changed remarkably.
What I noticed in my friend's logo was that “Shift Happens” differs from the familiar “Shi*t Happens” by just one letter. A very small change makes a huge difference in meaning. Michele is all about the good things that happen when we take care of ourselves mentally, physically, and spiritually. “Shi*t Happens” is all about the crappy (sorry, I couldn’t resist) things that happen to us.
Anyone who has fired a gun or shot an arrow from a bow knows that a small change in angle at the gun or bow makes a large change in where the projectile strikes the target (or misses it completely.)
In a flight to the moon, course corrections are made early by short bursts from guidance rockets. When the force is applied early, it doesn’t take much to make a significant change in the trajectory.
Life is like that, too, isn’t it? The earlier we notice an error in our ways and move to correct it, the easier. As we get older, we become set in our ways and change becomes harder and is often less welcome. We have less time to work with. As a friend often says, “we oldsters don’t do change well.”
My wife in talking to a group years ago noted how she enjoys having her tea in the same cup each morning. I’m the same, I’ve got to have my familiar coffee mug. Starting with a different mug throws my day off.
In investing, everyone knows that if you start early in life with a small investment and add a little to it each week or month, your investment will grow over time. The principle of compound interest enters in and by late life, you can have a significant retirement nest egg.
My friend Jill Ebstein recently published a story about making small changes in the business that have a significant impact. Jill suggests that rather than pivot (start off in a totally different direction), make small adjustments to your business strategy.
During part of my career, I worked as a process engineer. I dealt with manufacturing processes. When a process was trending toward the control limit and in danger of becoming out of control, we would make a small change and monitor the effect. If the result did not halt or reverse the trend, we’d make another small change. Through this incremental approach, we could ensure the product remained within specifications and the result would be acceptable to the customer.
The same is true in our lives. If we want to improve our strength, we start out with light weights, and gradually, over time, we increase the amount of weight we are lifting or moving by a small amount each week. If we try to make a large change all at once, we can hurt ourselves. With a gradual approach, we can safely become a stronger and better fit.
The same principle applies to mental and spiritual changes. Say we want to learn a new language. If we dive into an advanced course, we will soon become discouraged. However, if we start small with learning a few words and phrases each day and keep learning a little more each week, we will eventually become proficient.
The same can be said of faith. If we practice what we believe each day, our faith will gradually grow stronger. Then, when a major crisis comes along, we will be better able to handle it.
Something I’ve done for more than twenty years is starting each day with a time of spiritual reading, prayer, and journaling. Perhaps the impact of this discipline is what led a friend to observe that I exhibited a “calm spirituality.” When others see a quality in us that we know was not there before, we can be assured a change has occurred, perhaps even, as in this case with me, without our even being aware of it.
I once read that God is a habit of the heart. That rings true for me. And what makes a habit? Isn’t it just repeating a pattern over and over until we do it automatically, sometimes without thinking?
If we want to break a bad habit, we can do that by making small changes, too. Years ago I quit smoking by changing other habits. I spent more time with people who did not smoke and in places, such as the library and bookstores, that did not allow smoking. These were small alterations in my behavior, but they led to a big result, my quitting smoking. I’ve been smoke-free for over 30 years now.
God speaks to us in a still, small voice. His primary language is silence. By stopping to listen, halting our activity, and attuning ourselves to Him we can make better decisions. I’m convinced He seldom asks us to make big changes in our lives. More often He wants us to make small modifications that will produce better life patterns.
Author Anne Lamott talks about following God’s will in one of her books, Travel Mercies. She says it is like being on a stage in the spotlight with all-around being totally dark. We take a step to the edge of the light, then wait for the light to again center upon us. Then we take another step. In this way, we don’t fall off the edge of the stage. Small steps will take us safely where we want to go, where God wants us to go.
I pray your week has gone well and your weekend is being filled with joyful activities. As you go about your weekend activities, why not consider what small change(s) you can make that will take you a step closer to where you want to go? Then, perhaps, ask for some Divine guidance and take that small step to the edge of the light.
Happy Reading, Writing and Changing, dear friends. May the force be with you!