Small Steps

Did you make lofty, ambitious new year resolutions a few weeks ago?  New year’s resolutions are a tradition in our society, and I usually participate.  Then about mid-January, I lose my resolve.  Not always.  One year I set a goal to run my first marathon in October, and I succeeded.  But I’m not disciplined enough to stick to many big goals.

This year I decided to set one goal: to restore some order to my life.  Now that’s about as vague as it gets, right?  How much is some?  But I have strategies to help me, and they are tiny steps.  Nothing overwhelming.  Nothing that sets me up for failure.  I’m hoping by sharing, I may inspire others to try small steps, too.

For example, I love to drink half-and-half or real cream in my hot tea.  And I drink a lot of hot tea.  Each cup has approximately 40 added calories thanks to my half-and-half addiction.  Years past I’ve eliminated half-and-half and resolved to drink my tea black.  But soon I felt deprived and would sneak it back in now and again until finally I was back to having half-in-half in every cup.  So this year, I’ve switched to fat free half-and-half for my plain tea.  It’s not delicious, even the name brands; but I can live with it and not feel deprived.  The rest of my tea will be flavored or spiced tea, the kind that tastes yucky with added cream.  I used to adore Constant Comment and Cinnamon Stick teas.  I plan to drink those again.

I used to resolve to get back into shape by losing 20 pounds and exercising more.  Now I resolve to take each day at a time, keep a food journal, and fast-walk 10 minutes.  Ten minutes doesn’t sound like much, but if I do it every day?  That’s better than setting goals of 60 minutes and walking once a week or so.  Small steps are still progress, and small goals are attainable.  Isn’t it more important to feel you’ve succeeded than to berate yourself with discouraging words when you don’t meet tough goals?  Maybe not.  Maybe you’re more driven than I.  But the small step strategy works for me.  The food journal is my way of making myself accountable for what I eat.  Nothing is off limits, but awareness is half the battle of eating sensibly.  Again, it’s a little step toward restoring order in my eating habits.

I also want to restore order in my cluttered house.  Last year I set a goal to clean out the sewing room.  It’s still a mess.  This year I resolve to pick up one item in my sewing/storage room every day to either throw away or give away.  Allowing for days away from home, that’s still more than 300 items I will clear from my clutter by year’s end.  So far I’ve removed a dozen items that were stacked in the path to my sewing table.  See how small steps lead to progress?

I guess what I’m saying is to cut yourself some slack.  Don’t plan to run a marathon this year; get back to walking.  If you overeat, don’t go on a diet.  Make modest changes to cut back.  (That’s the beauty of the current Weight Watchers® program.  No food is taboo if eaten in moderation)  If you habitually procrastinate, decide on one chore or task you will do immediately each day.  Not everything.  It’s surprising how little steps can lead to better control of your life.

If you are sticking with your resolutions so far, congratulations.  If not, try revisiting your goals with the strategy of small pieces of progress.

Happy new year!

Diva Cheryl