A Tiny Change

It started with the smallest change.  To be honest I have a lot of bad habits and I do desperately want them to change and I really have tried to change them before, but eventually I just accepted the fact, like many of us do, that it's just the way I am.  I wanted true and lasting change, but somewhere between wanting it and making it happen there was a disconnect and I would slip right back into those old ruts again.  That changed after reading the very first chapter of the book "Atomic Habits" by James Clear.  

Atomic- 1. an extremely small amount of a thing, the single irreducible unit of a larger system.  2. the source of immense energy or power.

I was inspired by the stories in the book of 1% changes that had an explosive impact, just by doing one thing differnt.  So, I asked myself, what is my 1%?  Where did I want to begin making a change in my life?  

It was a tiny thing really, seemingly insignificant...  a messy kitchen.  It started many years ago, when as a new mom I was overwhelmed by the daily grind of taking care of babies, who came pretty close together, and all the work that came with them.  By the end of the day I was completely exhausted and ready to pass out after putting them down to bed.  I would leave my kitchen a complete mess, until the morning.  Dirty dishes piled in the sink and clutter all over the counters was just a way of life in my house.  Every morning I would wake up feeling tired and defeated after walking into such a disaster, but it continued this way for years.  

I would always start my day feeling behind.  This had a big impact on our school day too, because I would have to clean the kitchen before making breakfast and we always seemed to be starting the day way later than I wanted to.  After breakfast I would just leave the kitchen a mess again so that we could get started on school, but the whole time I was distracted by the disaster around me.   Having my attention divided between school and my messy house always made me feel frustrated and I took it out on my children.  

I noticed something amazing when my in-laws came to stay with us though, every night after dinner they would clean the kitchen and it would be spotless.  In the morning when I walked into my clean kitchen I noticed a totally different feeling...  My mornings were peaceful and calm instead of chaotic and overwhelming.  Sadly, I never adopted this habit myself.  I continued to leave all the mess for the morning.  

After reading the first chapter of the book I knew that this was my first 1 percent.  I had no idea that this one change would be a catalyst for some many others.  I had always had the goal of a clean house, but my system was broken.  I didn't understand how important timing could be.  After changing my system I was able to reach the goal I had been chasing for so long.

My new system looked like this...  First, have the dishwasher empty before dinner (and not by me), second clean up as I cook and load the pots and pans in the dishwasher as I go and lastly finish cleaning the kitchen immediately after dinner.  That last step was key.  If I waited even a few minutes it wouldn't get done.  With the kitchen clean and ready for the next day I woke up feeling happy and capable of facing the day ahead of me.  I felt like I was on top of things and no longer overwhelmed.

One thing I didn't expect was the satisfaction I felt after wiping down those counters and looking around at my finished job.  Knowing that I had just set myself up for a better day was a great feeling.  This reminded me of something I had read a long time ago about the way that God reacted after each day of creation was completed.  He looked around at all that He had made and He said, "It is good".  He admired all that He had accomplished.  The Bible says that we were made in the image of God.  In this way we are like God, when we complete a job our brains automatically look around at our finished work and admire what we have accomplished.  I was experiencing this every night after the dishes were put in and I could hear the hum of the dishwasher and see the clean, empty counter tops.  This was a good feeling... it was also addictive.  

Suddenly, I had the urge to accomplish other things, like clean my closets.  When my closet was clean and orderly I said, "Good job, Angela!" and moved on to the next thing like my refrigerator.  Since my day started out so smoothly and we could get started on school earlier I had more time on my hands.  I could get things accomplished like laundry.  Since my laundry wasn't piled up I had even more time on my hands to do other things that needed to be done.  After a few days that tiny change in my system made it possible to reach my goal of having a clean house every. single. day!!!  I was sold.

It was now time to tackle some other systems in my life that were not working and hadn't been for a long time... things like my finances, meal planning, working out and school.  I needed to take a good look at what wasn't working in my system and see what 1% changes I could make to accomplish all the other goals I had.

I'm still working on my systems, but I'm making progress and progress feels AMAZING!!!  I no longer feel like "that's just the way I am".  I honestly feel like I can accomplish anything now... just because of that one tiny change.

I know most of you probably can't relate to leaving your kitchen a disaster and maybe cleaning your kitchen is no big deal at all, but I'm sure you have some habit in your life that you'd like to change.  Evaluate your system, ask yourself what is NOT working and implement that 1 percent change.  I know you will be amazed by the result of making that one tiny change.

So, what can you do today that makes a big difference in your tomorrow???