Small Changes Inspire Big Changes

We live in an older home, which means there are many things that could go wrong. One of those things happened recently.

Our almost 40-year-old kitchen sink began to link. It was an ugly shade of white and cream. It looked like something out of Better Home And Gardens magazine from the 1950’s. 

We put up with it because it was there. It didn’t require us to do anything. It just semi-worked (did I mention one side of the sink would leak if we weren’t careful?). 

As the sink continued to deteriorate, enough was enough. Pamela and I discussed getting a new sink to replace the sink that was falling apart. It took us a while to settle on a new sink, but we finally did.

I placed the order, waited for shipment, and then began taking the old sink out, retrofitting parts of the countertop so the new sink could fit, and securing the new sink to the countertop.

The new sink has changed the whole appearance of our kitchen. It’s also inspired other changes we would like to make (new kitchen counters, kitchen cupboards, flooring, and more). 

We’re now inspired to make more changes to our kitchen.

Small Changes Inspire Big Changes

But what does this have to do with leadership or business or even your life? I know our kitchen sink story can change your life.

Why?

Because it can encourage you to make the small changes in your life that will inspire even bigger changes.

Small changes in your life could include:

• Taking a 10 minute stroll after dinner
• Thanking one or two employees every day
• Doing 5 push-ups every morning
• Reading 10 pages in a non-fiction book daily

What happens as you get used to taking a 10-minute walk every day? Or thanking an employee? Or doing 5 push-ups? Or reading 10 pages daily?

You begin to do more. You start to see the possibilities. You also see how easy it can be to accomplish these tasks. 

Muscle memory begins to happen and you want to do more!

Former CEO of Campbell Soup wrote over 30,000 encouraging notes to his employees! He didn’t start by writing multiple notes a day. He started with one or two. He built up to thousands over the course of his time as CEO.

This is why a small change can inspire bigger change. You work up to the bigger change.

What Needs To Change In Your Life?

Now comes the big question… What needs to change in your life? Or your organization? 

You know some things need to change. Sometimes, these things seem insurmountable.

They’re not. You only need to start off small. 

Look at the big task in front of you. It’s big, scary, and daunting. It’s also doable!

Break down the big change you want into manageable, small changes.

We’ll use running a marathon as an example. I’ve done multiple and know if I can do it, anyone can do it.

You don’t start off running a marathon unless you’re crazy (I know of a few people who have accomplished a full marathon without training). You start your training by changing your habits. You get outside and walk for 20 minutes on day one. Day two, you increase to 25 minutes. Day three, you drop back to 20 minutes. 

You continue to build your endurance by changing what you’re doing. You gradually increase the duration and intensity of the change. 

Eventually, you get to the point where you can do what seemed impossible.

That’s the power of the small change. Your small change will inspire and activatee BIG change in your life.

What do you need to change?

Joseph Lalonde is the owner of JMLalonde.com. He shares leadership insights from movies, extreme sports, and life experiences.

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