Small Changes, Big Rewards

It’s hard to break habits.

As difficult as it is sometimes to muster up the very thought of putting in the effort to break bad habits—dealing with inevitable failures, starting over, and finding the tenacity to stick with the process—it’s worth stepping up and beginning.  Because when that bad habit is replaced with a good one, that new routine may likewise become hard to break.

What bad habits are you looking to change? What good ones are you hoping to start? Just start. That’s the key—starting. And be wise about it. Don’t try to take on a million things all at once. Don’t set yourself up for burnout. Don’t overthink every step. Instead, pick one small, manageable change and commit to it.

Years ago, I had a wake-up call. I stepped on a scale and saw that if I didn’t make some changes, I’d soon hit 200 pounds. That realization lit a fire in me. The very next day, I started walking. It wasn’t easy to break out of the routine of laziness, but I’d made up my mind. There was no way I was going to join the 200-pound club. Soon, walking alone wasn’t enough for me. I felt so energized and fit that I joined a local gym—and kept up my daily walks too.

I drastically changed my diet  as well, and in just five months, I’d lost nearly 60 pounds. Along the way, I inspired a lot of people and even became known as “the woman who walks all over Abaco.” That effort paid off for a long time. I kept the weight off for ten years—ten years! During that decade, I didn’t drink soda, and I no longer sweetened my two cups of hot tea I would drink each day, and I barely ate any processed foods. I had swapped bad habits for good ones and reaped the rewards.

I’ll never forget my first physical after moving to the U.S. As I was about to leave the appointment, the doctor literally chased me down to hand me her personal card. She wanted me to call her and share my lifestyle because she was astounded by my excellent health.

But no habit is unbreakable. That applies to both good and bad habits.

Life happened. I got married, moved to a new country, earned two degrees back-to-back, and scheduled a surgery in the midst of it all. Then, I endured profound loss with the passing of my mother and two brothers. At first, I didn’t even realize what I was doing to myself. Bad habits crept back in—soda drinking, for example. (Zero sugar soda is still soda, in case you were wondering.) My gym visits dwindled to nothing. I couldn’t see myself waking up early enough to exercise and still make my 30-minute commute to work on time and with time to spare. Slowly but surely, the pounds came back.

Several months ago, I had a moment of clarity. “Are you really prepared to stay in this rut?” I asked myself. The next day, I made a decision: I was going to the gym. That small change, just showing up, has made all the difference. I haven’t stopped since, and I’ve seen more consistent progress than I have in years.

That’s the power of one small change.

Start somewhere. Small changes can lead to big rewards.