“The impact created by a change in your habits is similar to the effect of shifting the route of an airplane by just a few degrees. Imagine you are flying from Los Angeles to New York City. If a pilot leaving from LAX adjusts the heading just 3.5 degrees south, you will land in Washington, D.C., instead of New York” – Atomic Habits by James Clear
Whenever the new year rolls around, we tend to get very excited about the big, massive, life altering changes we are going to make. We are finally going to get those six pack abs we always wanted, finally get that car, finally not going to be late for work, finally eat healthy. We are finally going to be the perfect version of ourselves.
We get out hopes so high, and then, almost inevitably, we crash. We just can’t seem to find the motivation to do the 180 degree turn we’ve wanted to do. So we don’t turn at all, we don’t take any step forward.
One of the biggest lies that we believe is that in order for a step or change to matter, it must be a big, massive, leap forward. Fortunately for us, this just isn’t true. Our lives are the compilations of all the small, daily decisions and actions we go about making. Who we are, what we become, and what we have been are all based on the small things we do every day.
God has never asked for perfect people. God has asked for people who are willing to say “yes” daily. Who are willing to make the tough, tiny decisions that no one sees. The “yes” to waking up 30 minutes earlier, the “yes” to only eating 1 cookie instead of 5, the “yes” to reaching out to a close friend when you’re feeling alone. These small “yes’s” compile together into a lifetime of moving into what God has called you into.
What can you say “yes” to this year? What is a small action that you can put into your day that gets you closer to your goal? How can you be courageous today? How can you love more tomorrow?