If you’re going to make personal changes, and you want to do them well, make big changes. Don’t aim low with small changes. Aim high.
Big changes command your attention. They require full-focused effort. Small changes demand little from you. They’re easier to discard when they get inconvenient.
When you make a big change, you’re more likely to build your life around it. When you make a small change you’re more likely to sacrifice it to maintain existing habits.
An example of a small, low-aim change would be trying not to get as defensive at work. It’s too small of an impact in too narrow of a window for you to take it seriously enough for long. Rationalization will eventually wear down your mind until you lose interest.
A big, high-aim change would be deciding not to be a defensive person, ever. Not at work, at home, with friends, strangers, or anyone. Now you have a big target, big stakes, with big impact. Now your entire identity is involved. That demands attention. That will hold your attention. The stage is set for meaningful change.
A small change is trying to eat healthier. It doesn’t work. A big change is choosing a healthy and fun lifestyle. It works great.
Change that doesn’t challenge you doesn’t make much of a difference and rarely lasts. It’s the challenge of the change that engages your mind to make it happen and energizes your heart to see it through with discipline.
No challenge, no change.
Everything is training for something. Do the work.
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