“Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.”
James Clear
If you’ve ever saved for retirement in a 401 K you probably know a thing or two about compounding interest. Start saving in your twenties and by the time you are ready to retire in your sixties you could pretty well be a millionaire.
Habits both good and bad catch up with us over time.
Clear states, “Unfortunately, the slow pace of transformation also makes it easy to let a bad habit slide. But when we repeat 1% errors, day after day, …our small choices compound into toxic results.”
For me sitting on the couch day after day, rather than getting up and moving more might not show any negative effects today. However, in ten years the compounding of this habit might be the difference between getting to live the life I desire or having to accept the life I have.
The idea behind atomic habits is that, “A very small shift in direction can lead to a very meaningful change in destination. Similarly, a slight change in your daily habit can guide your life to a very different destination.”
I remember when my husband was recovering from heart surgery we were told to have him start exercising by walking one minute around the house. The next day it was two minutes. By the end of his recovery I was struggling to keep up with him at the mall where we walked for thirty minutes at a brisk pace.
If I set a goal of moving thirty minutes a day, I know that I probably won’t be consistent based on past attempts. What if I walked 30 minutes a day in one minute increments?
Even better what if I started with five minutes a day in one minute increments. I’m not a mathematical genius, but considering the 1% rule starting much smaller than you normally would consider sounds like the key to better habits.
I’m going to give it a try starting today.
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