I have been a participant in a book discussion on 2 Krazy Ketos' YouTube channel recently. The book is called Atomic Habits written by James Clear. It uses the same concept that I have written about many times on this blog as well as my old blogs. That concept is what I have always called "little steps" and some of my readers may remember I had a blog with that title. The Japanese have long used this idea in their business practices under the name of kaizen, which means small improvements. Implementing one small change in your daily practices leads to other changes, one change at a time. Or one step at a time.
It is easier to make that first small step toward the big change you hope to eventually do. Just depends on you actually doing it. It can be something simple such as making your bed every morning right after you get up. Or taking a walk around your block or down your road. Then extending it a little further every time or doing another small chore right after making your bed. As soon as you are accomplishing the one new habit automatically every day it is time to begin the next one.
I have been doing this for a long time now. Many changes in my life have taken place and I owe it to this method. One thing that I lived with for a long time was a cluttered environment. Mainly because there was no storage available for simple every day things in my home. So when I moved from a house to a small studio apartment I was aware of what I had to eliminate to make room. Storage space is very limited here so I make choices in what I will keep and what I will not. It has been ongoing since I am still working on it. Progress has been made though and I have no clutter in my apartment.
Routines help. As soon as I walk in my door, I hang my coat or jacket up in the closet that is right next to the entrance. I put my keys in a small cloth bag that hangs on that closet's doorknob. I take my shoes off and put them on the bottom shelf of the bookcase opposite the closet. I take my wallet and phone out of my purse and hang the purse inside the closet. Then put my wallet away in a drawer. All done and put away. Not laying around in the way or to become misplaced. I never have to search for my keys. I did not start doing these things all on the same day. I started with the keys and continued until it was my habit.
One thing I had learned long ago from my first husband was when you have items you do not use or like get rid of them. Don't keep them around taking up space. My parents always had one room in their houses for junk or what I considered junk. Eventually it fell on me to clean out their home and garage when my father passed away in 2012. It was a horrible job and I would not wish that on anyone. Don't be a saver. Saving things for another time or in case you might need it. So what if you have to replace it later on?
My parents were very frugal people. Yet they paid movers to move us from NY to FL and then back again after a number of years. Did they get rid of that junk? Nope. Paid to move it. Then I had to put that same stuff in a dumpster which was not cheap. I think I had to get three dumpsters while cleaning out their home. Nothing was able to be sold. I am thankful I did not inherit this trait from them. I did not. I like wide open spaces when possible.
One of the most important things I would like to stress is to not wait for your goal to be happy and enjoy your life. Do it now! If you avoid getting together with family members or friends because you need to lose weight, just do it anyway. Something might happen to them or you and you will have missed that chance. Get in those family photos now! Take that trip you always wanted to do. Do not put off those things you want to do until you lose your weight or get that job or get a new car or move into a better house. They want to spend time with you now regardless of those things.
To think the little change or step you make today will change your life for the better later is hard to believe. It will. If you stick to it you can make it happen.
1 comment:
I like your new blog! The photos are beautiful, too.
~Shaun
(RadishRose)
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