The (Positive) Snowball Effect

Diets suck, resolutions are hard, and bad habits aren't easy to break. How many gyms and health food stores do you think are cram packed today, but will be back to their barren selves in a month or less? There are several reasons for this phenomenon, but the biggest one is that we tend to "go big or go home" with our changes. We feel the need to jump in with both feet and cut out something or start something new right away and with full force.

Someone once suggested to me to stop using the word diet and start using lifestyle change. It takes on a whole different mentality. A diet is a lot of don't eat that and people don't like to be told they can't do something, especially when they want to, but when you change your lifestyle, you aren't saying NO to bad things, but more of saying YES to good things. Things that will improve your quality of life.

Take baby steps. Don't cut out everything all at once. You don't have to quit smoking, start eating better, and go to the gym all in the same day. You'll probably kill yourself faster trying to do so. Start with one thing at a time, preferably the one that might seem the easiest, and go from there. This method can apply to several changes in life.

If you need to declutter, start with something small, like the junk drawer in the kitchen, or the center console in your car, then, work your way up to a cabinet or two, then a closet, and then maybe a spare room. If it's debt, start with the smallest balance, pay it off, then move on to the next one up, and so on, adding the amount you paid for the smaller one to the next. You'll be amazed at how fast things get taken care of.

Rome wasn't built in a day, and the first trip into outer space didn't put a man on the moon. Don't get discouraged and give up when you don't get results overnight. Give it time, breathe, and make a better you, one step at a time.