“THERE IS ONLY ONE CORNER OF THE UNIVERSE YOU CAN BE CERTAIN OF IMPROVING, AND THAT’S YOUR OWN SELF.”
~ALDOUS HUXLEY
If there is one thing about humanity that’s certain it would have to be the fact that we as humans are incredible at adapting.
Have you ever known someone going through a major life crisis and thought “Wow, I don’t know what I would do if I was in that situation” or “I couldn’t even begin to imagine what that must feel like”? If you have then you know what I’m referring to.
We as human beings have an uncanny ability to adapt to our circumstances. Although you could never know this when looking at someone facing adversity. It is only when you’re faced with major adversity that you instantly change and adapt. I say instantly because when we’re facing major adversity, we don’t really know when we change – it sort of just happens without us realizing it.
So you must be thinking, “Okay, that’s great and all, but we can’t always create circumstances that will drive such change in us…” So the question then becomes, How do we change without facing major adversity? How can I improve myself without going through hardship?
The answer to the above question is simpler than you might think. The way to drive internal change without simulating circumstances composed of major adversity is through simple atomic repetitions that form habits.
Many of us read famous quotes that resonate with us or even watch videos on self-improvement and when we do so, we obtain this sense of clarity. We think, “Aha! So that’s what I need to do when such and such happens”, but the reality is that we seldom recall such words of wisdom when the circumstance arises. In other words, we forget when we most need to remember.
The problem many of us have is that we absorb all this sagely self-improvement advice and we eventually forget it. An even bigger problem – we never get to put it into practice. To solve these problems, follow the simple 3-step approach below.
- Limit Information Intake
- To avoid burnout
- Enhance absorption and retention
- To avoid being overwhelmed
- Break a goal down into smaller sub-tasks
- Smaller tasks are generally easier to complete
- Each completion will motivate you
- Consistent practice
- Make it a part of your routine
- Avoid adding a whole new routine
When you follow the simple template above, you will find it easier to manage change in yourself. It is no secret that change is hard, but it is far from impossible. With a proper template and consistent effort, change is within reach!
