Everything Starts Out Small

Today I had some interesting thoughts about being okay with things small and seemingly insignificant. I think we are taught in our culture that things only have value if they are really big and impressive. Hence, most things in our lives get devalued.

This used to be a huge issue for me and I wasn't even aware of it. I thought that unless I did something so big that it changed the world, my life was meaningless. One day, I got the idea to write down everything I did in one day. That included things like: get out of bed, take a shower, get dressed, enjoy my morning coffee, wash the dishes, walk to the library, pay bills, along with the stuff I thought of as big and important, like writing.

At the end of the day, I looked at the list and asked myself, What would my life be like if I cut out showering, washing the dishes, or paying bills because they are apparently insignificant? Well, in a fairly short period of time my body and apartment would not be fit to live in. And if I don't pay my bills, I won't have a home, a phone, or electricity. So these seemingly insignificant things are extremely important because they add up to a life that is worth living.

Not only that, but one book bought and read does change a life. Setting and achieving even one goal, no matter how small, changes your life. Making the choice to do something positive changes your life.

I'm not saying I'm perfect at this, only that I recognize the BIG-or-Nothing Syndrome in myself. Now that I recognize it, I'm able to get past it more quickly. Like setting my goals. I thought I should do more, but I pushed myself to get it done, even if I didn't think my effort was good enough. Maybe that's what holds so many people back, the deep hidden belief that their small efforts and successes aren't worth mentioning or acknowledging. They don't see their successes, so they come to see themselves as failures or "only this good and no better."

Once we're aware of it, we can make the effort to recognize how important our small efforts and successes are because they make all the difference in the world.

Recently I ran across the concept of Kaizen. I had already figured this out on my own, but was intrigued to discover that there is a word for it. It means "small, continuous improvement." The emphasis is on small. There’s a really good book on it called One Small Step Can Change Your Life: Using the Japanese Technique of Kaizen to Achieve Lasting Success by Robert Maurer. I highly recommend it. In fact, I am so impressed with Kaizen that I’m going to begin leading a workshop on the subject. More info coming on that soon.