Small Investments. Big Returns.

“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.”― James Clear, Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

As we wrap up the holiday season and mark our almost two-year anniversary of “pandemic” living, pause, reflect and take care of yourself. Fill your well. Play. Read. Relax. Move your bones, every day. Lift your spirit, every day. Laugh, every day. Seek and find joy in ordinary days. It is in our daily commitments and activities we make progress, attain contentment. In daily rituals, we grow, transform and change.

Ditch the temporary excitement of New Year’s Resolutions that flounder and fade by February and start today and each day going forward starting three things and build upon them. Small investments in activities that keep you learning and growing, creating and contributing. Find what fits and continue. Discard what doesn’t fit after trying it for at least three days.

“All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision. But as that decision is repeated, a habit sprouts and grows stronger. Roots entrench themselves and branches grow. The task of breaking a bad habit is like uprooting a powerful oak within us. And the task of building a good habit is like cultivating a delicate flower one day at a time.”― James Clear, Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

When the pandemic started, I restarted the practice of Morning Pages and haven’t stopped since. Julia Cameron developed the practice of Morning Pages – writing three pages right away when waking. Whatever comes to mind, stream of consciousness without stopping, editing or critiquing – improv on a page, a blank slate. By the time you get to the third page, clarity, connections and patterns begin to emerge. Some days, nothing. Most days, something of value arises in the practice. It’s also the prompt that leads me to my second daily ritual of writing a post a day on my other blog Cast Light.

In the beginning of 2021, I committed to writing daily on Cast Light, without fail. Some days were a struggle and others the words fell on the page. Often not polished, at times random and certainly imperfect. But there’s power in what Seth Godin describes as “shipping the work”  - hitting publish and releasing it into the world. Some posts hit, others fell flat, but no matter what, always shipping the work to get better, to take action, to start and finish to prompt more starting. Also, hopefully adding a healthy dose of optimism, belonging and connection into the world.

My third daily commitment is 10-15 minutes of meditation using the Insight Timer app. Usually music, sometimes prayers or guided meditation. Simple. Accessible. Effective. There’s plenty of research that shows that meditation can sharpen attention, reduce stress, increase compassion, improve mental health and enhance relationships. It helps anchor me in gratitude, joy and optimism.

As I reflect on this year and begin planning for next year (as much as we can plan in year 3 of a pandemic), I am sticking with my current rituals while adding weekly and monthly ones as well. A few that I’ll start with include strength training three times a week, writing articles for Start3Things once a week and reading for longer periods at least four times per week. Three is enough and others can be added when these take root first. When we start new habits, we crowd out the habits that don’t serve us well.

Create your own three daily rituals, add some weekly and monthly activities to mix it up and stick with them. Don’t overthink or contemplate too long. And if/when you miss or fall away, start back up. We all trip, fall and miss the mark. It’s in the starting, in the small investments that we reap the big returns. What resonates will stick with action, repetition and practice.

Small investments. Big returns. Start. 3. Things. Repeat.

“The only choice we have is to begin. And the only place to begin is where we are. Simply begin. But begin.”― Seth Godin, The Practice: Shipping Creative Work

Practice Makes Better and that Darn C Chord

“Don't only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets; art deserves that, for it and knowledge can raise man to the Divine.” – Ludwig van Beethoven

A month ago, I decided it was time to start learning how to play the guitar or stop thinking about starting someday. Someday is now. Practicing daily for 20-40 minutes along with streaming guitar lessons is pushing and pulling me into new unfamiliar territory. It’s not comfortable, but wonderfully satisfying in new and unfamiliar ways.

Steadily building dexterity in my fingers, learning chords, techniques, history of the artform and how to read music. It’s a process and progress comes in small steps. After weeks of practice, my left index finger is finally numbed with a callous from the steel strings. My third finger is learning to land closer to the fret, becoming independent from my hand to operate independently and sometimes in the direction I send it. The C chord continues to be my challenge so I focus each practice session on mastering the movement.

The dogs are now able to sit in a room with me when I’m practicing without howling, gazing at me in dismay or dashing off to another room. It’s coming around and some days are better than others. Slow, hard and rewarding - the ticket to satisfaction.

Do hard things that take time, repetition and effort. Practice makes better not perfect. We need to do more activities that are measured in slow progress rather than the temporary satisfaction from quick and easy results. It’s easy to contemplate starting and hard to keep starting every day imperfectly.

“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” – Aldous Huxley

Practice, repetition of hard things with consistency over time creates rigor, progress and confidence. So much of our days consist of rushed efficient-focused work. Faster, efficient, more with less. Checklist living. Lasting transformation and growth come from doing hard things over time with effort.

It’s time to revisit or release those “things” that you always wanted to do. Start or let it go so you can focus your energy into your purpose and joy. Start and stick with it and see where the road leads.

“The harder you work, the luckier you get.” – Gary Player