Little transformations make a massive difference
It’s the end of August already and we're nearing the end of our summer blog revisits. As many of us treat the beginning of September, the start of the academic year, as the other New Year I thought we’d revisit a blog I wrote last year focusing on how small changes can actually make a massive difference.
During a coaching session, one of my clients said “It’s not all about massive transformations, little transformations make a massive difference!” and it really got me thinking. She is so right. I think a lot of people think that choosing to work with a coach is about having a massive goal and wanting to make a huge change in your life but this couldn’t be further from the reality of coaching! My client hit the nail on the head. It is those little transformations – the changes in your thinking, behaviour and understanding of yourself - that added together make a massive difference to life.
Like the client who committed to being in bed with her light out by 11pm on work nights. She reported back that she felt like she could rule the world now she was getting enough sleep!
The client who decided to swap perfectionism and its associated guilt for gratitude and felt like the weight of the world had lifted from her shoulders.
The client who started speaking back to her inner critic and stopped lying awake at 3am worrying about work.
The client who chose to ask for feedback on her performance in committee meetings and discovered that she was doing a great job and could stop carrying around a cloud of worry!
The client who having heard me talk about boundaries in a masterclass rang her manager the next day to tell her that she was having to work an extra three hours every week to get through her work. The resulting conversation led to her being paid for those three hours.
The client who after decades of being a “yes” woman learnt to set boundaries and start saying no and thrived as a result.
I could go on! I’m sure if you have a think about it you can come up with examples from your own life.
I know in my own experience when I want to make what may feel like a massive transformation in my life it’s always a combination of lots of little transformations that make the massive difference and get me to the transformation.
I often use the analogy of crossing a river. We are standing on the riverbank looking across to the other side where we want to be. When we think about trying to get across that river in one giant leap, one massive transformation it can feel overwhelming and completely impossible. What we need to do is use stepping stones to get across and we don’t even need to know what all those stepping stones involve as we begin our journey. We just need to choose our first one, take action and move forward.
Taking an example from my own life, towards the end of 2019 I had my annual visit to the nurse at the GP surgery and my blood pressure was higher than usual. High for me rather than high blood pressure, as the nurse put it, but I wanted to do something about it so that it didn’t become an issue in the future. And so I embarked on lots of little transformations. I looked at the supplements I took each day and added another in that was good for heart health. I started making sure that I got out for a brisk walk at least five days a week. I looked at my diet and made a few small tweaks and changes. I was more careful about making sure I was getting enough sleep.
My blood pressure was checked monthly until lockdown began and I could see those little changes beginning to make a difference. At my check with the nurse at the end of 2020 it was back to normal which surprised me no end as I had it checked the day they announced another full lockdown and my stress levels were pretty high! Lots of little transformations had made a big difference to my health.
Where could little transformations make a massive difference to your life right now?
If you haven't already I'd love you to come and join my free facebook community where I can help you to explore the transformations needed to make your life easier.
