The Secret to Transformation
Transformation… What does this word inspire in you? What does it conjure up? What does it cause you to feel? For most, when we think about transformation and what it would take for transformation to occur, it usually brings up thoughts of great effort, challenge, and work. Rarely do we consider the possibility of transformation occurring through a process of ease and flow. I am here to tell you that that is exactly how real, deep, and everlasting transformation can occur.
Let’s take a common example, something most of us have experienced at some point in our lives: the transformation of our bodies from a less fit to a more fit state. In this situation most of us consider all the pain that we will have to endure to attain the transformation we want. We think about all the hard exercises we will have to do, all the sweat and physical pain this will cost, the time we will have to commit, the challenge of not being able to eat our favorite foods, and on and on…And the reason this all feels so heavy and overwhelming is because we have the underlying belief that in order for us to achieve the transformation we desire, we need to change everything we do and go in “full on”. This is the reason why 66% of the American population is overweight. Trying to change everything about our diet and exercise routine all at once is not sustainable. In order to do this, we have to rely heavily on our will power, and will power is exhaustible. There are plenty of studies indicating that this is the case. So, we may be able to stick to the new “full on” exercise and diet routine for a few days, or maybe even a few weeks, but sooner rather than later, some other stressor will enter our lives requiring us to use up our will power leaving little behind to allow us stick with our diet and exercise plan. This will quickly take us down the slippery slope of losing hope to the old habits and behaviors of before. And this is true for any change that we want to accomplish in our lives: showing our spouse more love and attention, not losing our patience, being confident in speaking up at work, etc. But what if there was another way? What if instead of using all our will power to push ourselves to doing something that feels hard and heavy (even if we know that it is what we want and what we need), we could make changes with ease? What would that look like?
Well, perhaps that could be something like only eating ½ of our favorite sugary treat on day 1, then not eating it at all on day 2, or maybe on day 3 not eating the sugary treat and doing 1 push up, and so on and so forth. It is about making a small change every day. Let me repeat: the key to transformation is making a SMALL change EVERYDAY! Think about it, if we could manage a 1% change in how we behave or react every day, that 1% would compound and by the end of the year we would attain a 3700% transformation!! That’s incredible, and even hard to imagine. The truth is we don’t even need to make a 1% change daily. If you make a 0.01% shift every day, by the end of the year you will attain at 37% transformation. That could translate into having a 37% better relationship with your spouse, a 37% higher chance of being selected for a promotion at work due to your improved communication skills, a 37% higher likelihood of your teenager talking to you about an issue they’re dealing with, etc.
When we execute transformation by making these tiny shifts, it is impossible to perceive the change from one day to the next. This is, in fact, the crux in how we can make transformation feel easy. The steps we take must be small and painless so that we are willing to continue moving forward. It is the consistency of taking a step, and then the next, and then another that gets us to where we need and want to go. Eventually, the shift we make from day to day becomes bigger, and we organically, even excitedly, take the next step. This is how the change is compounded over time. I like to use the analogy of pushing a humongous flywheel. When the flywheel is at a standstill and we try to get it to make a full circle all at once, it takes a tremendous amount of effort and energy. However, if we just make a small push followed by another and yet another, eventually the flywheel will begin to move a little bit and each additional push will move it further until it gathers momentum. Once in this state keeping it in motion requires very little to make it go faster and faster.
I invite you to consider: where in your life do you seek to see a transformation? What tiny shift can you commit to making today? Consider this daily and let me know where you’ve gotten to in a year.
