Small changes, big results
Time to read: 5-6 min
We humans often overestimate what we can do in a few hours and underestimate what we can accomplish in a few years. When trying to implement certain changes in your life, it might be better to take things step by step instead of working unfocused for several hours just because you've set yourself a certain timeline. Some things need more time than others; a big change isn’t something that can be implemented within a day. If you weigh 200 kg and set yourself the goal to become skinny, you don’t expect to look like Brad Pitt in Fight Club after one day of training, right? You would notice changes after a few weeks or even months, depending on your willingness to change your body. The crucial aspect of implementing change over time is the so-called 'Compound effect'.
Imagine a snowball rolling down a hill. At first, it may seem insignificant, but as it gathers momentum and picks up more snow along the way, it grows larger and larger. Similarly, when we consistently make small, positive choices in our lives, they can compound over time and result in substantial progress and success. To give you another example, I've already written about the importance of reading in my blog, 'Reading is Overpowered'. I don’t think you would like the idea of reading over 100 pages per day, right? Unless you haven't done it before. If you want to become an avid reader, you might start with reading 10 pages per day. It might sound like an inconvenient task, but I can assure you that this method is way better than forcing yourself to read for several hours. After a week, you might start to increase your reading to 20 pages per day because you enjoy the book you're reading or the experience in general, who knows?
The key to harnessing the compound effect is consistency and patience. It's about understanding that small, incremental progress adds up over time and being willing to trust the process. By focusing on making consistent, positive choices every day, you can harness the power of the compound effect to create lasting change and achieve your goals. Marius from my swim team mentioned that you could use the time you spend waiting for the bus to learn a new language instead of mindlessly scrolling through your phone. Imagine you're waiting on average 10 minutes for the bus per day. Now, add those 10 minutes for 30 days, and you've got 300 minutes or 5 hours that you could have spent learning a new language. In a year, you would have studied for 3,560 minutes or nearly 60 hours for a new language. Imagine you could learn a new practical human skill by just changing the activity you always did while waiting for the bus.
Just trust the process.
If you really want something badly enough, you usually can achieve it by giving yourself enough time to realize your goal. Think about how much you've changed in the last 5 years. The next 5 years might be even more life-changing for you. So don’t underestimate the compound effect.
There's a reason why the saying 'Rome wasn't built in a day' has such credibility in our language and human communication. The road to greatness is usually the hardest. It takes months, years, or even decades to achieve your goals. You might need to sacrifice some things, but that is the beauty of it. Think of the moment when you finally achieve something in the uncertain future. Think of the struggle, all the pain, and stress you had to endure to reach that certain point that seemed unreachable for so long, and now you are holding that moment within your own hands. I didn't know what I could write about today, and I was distracted during the day. Now, I've created this blog for you to read within 30 minutes. I just stuck to the process, instead of giving up.
Don't bullshit yourself.
A win after hard work always feels better than cheating or replicating it with inferior tasks. If you cheat in your life to reach a certain goal, you can’t deny that it doesn't feel that nice. A wonderful physique that is achieved naturally is more impressive than the same physique created with the help of steroids. Our brain knows when we are deceiving ourselves or when we are actually doing hard work, which is necessary to reach certain things in our lives. We humans are destined to work for our goals, mentally, physically, and spiritually. Tricking yourself with replicated dopamine won’t make you happy. Porn doesn’t feel as nice as sex, getting a good grade naturally feels better than cheating, and a hard-earned million feels better than a million you got from inheritance.
Don’t become too lazy, though. Try to achieve your tiny goals, such as reading your pages per day. The risk of stopping your activities because you are lazy or just simply don’t feel like it are crucial mistakes you need to avoid. Unless you don’t want to achieve certain things in your life, you need to be consistent. Name me one time when you regret going to the gym besides feeling like you wanted to stay at home before?
Try to implement small changes in your life. I also have a recommendation for you ~ Atomic Habits by James Clear.
Have a great day and stay consistent.
