A shiny, brand new, sparkly year stretches out before me like a fresh canvas awaiting the artist.  The possibilities are astounding.  On paper and in my mind, I easily re-imagine my life.  I like to use this time of year to pause, reflect and make changes; to discern if I am on course or to ask myself if I would prefer something altogether different.  It’s so easy to imagine myself doing all kinds of new things and attempting sweeping changes.  But will I?? As a creature of habit, I find myself pretty much falling into familiar routines.  Not that this is bad, I know much of it is, in fact, good.

In reality, I plan to make a few small changes here and there.  I initially balk at small changes.  My inner critic urges me toward grand scale audacious changes.  It tells me that otherwise, they won’t amount to anything.  It suggests that small changes are wimpy, for the weak of character and will never get me to a new destination …or will they??

Interestingly enough, while my inner critic scoffs at small changes, it also whines at the sheer magnitude of big changes.  What all of this could amount to is no change at all!  Ultimately, I’ve noticed that I have a much greater chance at success with small, manageable changes here and there than sweeping, all-encompassing ones.

For instance, eight years ago, totally revamping the way we were eating seemed like a worthy goal.  I soon discovered that it was a daunting task.  I could, however, try one or two new healthy recipes each month and incorporate those we enjoyed into my round of meals, replacing others that were less healthy. While that may seem like a low bar, it was something that I was able to incorporate into my schedule without too much effort.  Bit by bit our menu was taking shape around fresh vegetables and plant-based foods and away from heavily starched and/or processed foods high in nutrient-deprived calories.  Starting small made this change manageable, which allowed me to stick with it.  Now eight years later, our menu is upwards of 85% better and still growing.  Since focusing on eating better, I’ve become more intentional with food choices.  It has become easy for me to bypass the unhealthy items on the supermarket shelves, releasing myself from having to repeatedly exercise my will power at home. One small change leads to another, to another…

A life coach once said to me, “Set a goal so small, that it’s laughable at how easily attainable it is… then grow it from there.”  That made a whole lot of sense to me.  Up until then, I had neglected the fact that even small changes often grow exponentially.  A small change in one area of my life affects many other areas, making the change quite significant in the end.  Now I’m constantly on the look-out for any small change that I can incorporate to improve the quality of my life…

Happy New Year!

~Zanne
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