The Power of Incremental Change
Lasting change comes from small steps taken over time.
Progress is not achieved by luck or accident, but by working on yourself daily.
Epictetus
Let’s make one thing clear: I am not an athlete.
Never have been. At the most athletic point in my life, I was heading into my senior year of high school at a lean, mean 185 pounds. With absolutely no muscle definition.
Except for my calves. The curse of a lifelong fat kid.
I was in the marching band and had spent that summer riding my bike all over town. I was in the best shape of my life. Which wasn’t saying much but hey, it was what I had and I was loving life.
Fast forward 25ish years later and I’m in the worst shape of my life. Back in December of 2020, through a weird conglomeration of events involving a friend asking about website design, I began seeing a personal trainer.
Side note: Whatever you do in life, learn a side hustle or secondary skillset. You never know when you’ll be able to work out a beneficial exchange of goods.
I’ve been working out at least 3 days a week since December. No, it hasn’t been easy. Yes, it’s been absolutely worth it.
I was able to shovel snow off my driveway without blasting my back for the first time in I don’t know how long. Even shoveled the neighbor’s drive because she’s having knee surgery soon and has a devil of a time getting around.
Over the course of time, my workouts have gotten more productive as I’m able to get more out of each movement. Earlier this week, squat jumps were in the mix.
No, I don’t really jump at all yet. You try getting 360-ish pounds off the ground. It ain’t easy.
At one point, my trainer says, “Mike Mike Mike Mike Mike!”
Of course, I was sure I was doing something wrong and needed some guidance (something good coaches do in any area before you screw something up) to make sure I didn’t hurt myself.
Actually, I wasn’t doing anything wrong at all. KO said, “I’m starting to see some air under your feet!”
I quickly brushed it off as no big deal. KO responded with “hey, credit card vertical is an improvement.”
The average credit card is 0.03 inches thick.
0.03 inches. That’s my vertical leap. Which is 0.03 inches more than it was in December.
This is incremental progress.
It’s not that we have little time, but more that we waste a good deal of it.
Seneca
We all have goals and dreams for our lives, our work, and our families. Too often, we get caught looking a the end goal and not the path to get there. I struggle with this just about every day.
And it’s not just a struggle with health goals but for any goals in my life. Writing more, getting more visitors to my website, making improvements at work with educational technology integration, building better relationships, and being a better dad.
It’s easy to see those end goals and feel overwhelmed. It’s even easier to feel so overwhelmed that you stop working toward your goals because all you can see is the end and how much work you have to do to get there. Your momentum is crushed, your frustration increases, and you give up.
But if you can keep going (Amazon link) just a little bit every day, all you need are small wins to keep your momentum.
All you need is a pat on the back (even if you’re patting your own back) to keep moving down the path.
You just need 0.03 inches.
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
Thanks for reading. This newsletter is free, but not cheap. To show your support, you can forward it to someone who’d like it or shop for some of my favorite stuff (I get a cut).
If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can read previous issues and subscribe here.