Small change, big difference
You can start tomorrow
Art by Edouard Cortes
We miss out on a lot when we resist change; when we get stuck in comfort; when we keep our minds small; when we act like we know it all. Hello, unintentional rhyme.
Today, I want to share with you a list of small changes that I’ve made in my life recently that have made it slightly better in some way, shape or form.
1. Working at cafés whenever I have the chance. The sounds, smells and overall atmosphere at a cozy café is something that can’t be attained at home or at an office. Also, whenever I’m at a café, I feel a sense of accountability to actually work rather than procrastinate (can anyone relate?) which means my focus increases significantly and I get more done (while also enjoying myself more!). It’s an absolute win-win.
2. Making more of an effort to be nice to neighbours. Believe it or not, I find quite a lot of enjoyment in small-talking with neighbours, but I feel like it’s easy to overlook those who live close to us. We take them for granted somehow, because they’re just always there and so we don’t really think about it. But having a pleasant conversation with any decent human being, or even just a brief greeting, adds a little bit of good energy to my day.
3. Having guilt free me-time. Around this time last year, I couldn’t watch a movie or tv-show without feeling guilty about it. “I could be doing something productive instead”, I’d think to myself. But now, I love ending my day with an episode of a TV-show (currently watching ‘Vår tid är nu’, a Swedish show that was recommended to me) and I feel absolutely zero guilt. Why? Because I simply don’t believe that spending one hour a day doing something completely “unproductive” is what’s going to make the difference between me being “successful” and “unsuccessful”. I do however believe that not allowing myself that time will have a negative impact on my mental health, and that could in fact make the difference between “succeeding” and not.
4. Acknowledge all the wins. Every single night, I write down one win of the day. It could be big or small - anything from “I got out of bed even though I didn’t feel like it” to “I got a very exciting sponsorship for my channel”. To me, it’s about changing the narrative from “what could I have done to make today better?” (which presumes that what I’ve done that day was not enough, and I should’ve done more) to “what have I done that made today good?” (which presumes that regardless of how my day has been, I can always find something of value that I’ve done for myself).
This Monday morning, I invite you to think about any small change that you’ve made recently that has made a positive difference in your life, no matter how small that difference is. And if you can’t seem to think of anything - is there something that you could do differently, starting tomorrow?
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Some things you might’ve missed lately:
My latest YouTube video —> "I Visualized My Dream Life for 3 years: Did it Work?”
My latest Podcast episode —> “Are online creators being authentic?”
In James Clear’s Atomic Habits(highly recommend btw), he talks about environment being more important than motivation for forming good habits. The chapter summery says: “Small changes in context can lead to large changes in behavior over time.
Every habit is initiated by a cue. We are more likely to notice cues that stand out.
Make the cues of good habits obvious in your environment. Gradually your habits become associated not with single trigger but with the entire context surrounding the behavior. The context becomes the cue.
It is easier to build new habits in a new environment because you are not fighting old cues.”
Long story short: beyond accountability, this is another reason why working at a cafe will help you focus. Just thought I would share :)
One small thing I’ve added to my routine in just the past week: observing people.
It sounds a bit weird at first, but whenever I’m out doing normal daily tasks, I’ve started watching people as I go, whether it’s grocery shopping, eating out, going for a walk, etc.
It helps me remember that every single person I interact with has highs and lows just like me. I become far less self centered when I see complete strangers celebrating an accomplishment, receiving bad news, falling in love, mourning a loss, or even just finding joy in the simplest of moments.