I’ve always envied those bold and free-spirited people who jump fearlessly into the unknown. Unfortunately, I tend to tip-toe towards change, afraid of what monsters lurk beneath the surface of my beautifully placid lake of structure and routine. I know without a doubt that I am not alone: millions of us stay in unhappy or unrewarding relationships, jobs, and even bodies because of the fear of change. It keeps us from being our best selves and living our best lives.
Why then are we willing prisoners to this stasis?
Our brains for one.
In an article entitled “Anxiety and the Amygdala,” it explains how this part of the brain, for all its good intentions, indirectly works to make us resistant to change. The amygdala functions to help us ward off danger by creating a fight or flight response to environments or situations that it perceives as new and threatening. It gives our body the fuel to overcome these situations and the article lists them in detail: “[Hearts] beat faster. Muscles tense. Blood pressure rises. Adrenaline is pumped into your bloodstream…lungs take in more [oxygen].”
However advantageous these physical responses may be if we are fighting off a predator or running from a ticking time bomb, they are not so beneficial when the amygdala creates this same response to relatively harmless changes in lifestyle, profession, or routine. These sensations are uncomfortable and, in a world of chaos, who wants to feel this way? No one. Life is hard enough as it is. So, we take the easier route and choose the safety of “as is” over the scary possibility of “what could be,” even if positive results will occur from said change.
So what’s the answer to overcoming this debilitating response?
Small changes. Small steps towards change take away this sense of anxiety. And a small change done routinely then becomes a habit which, by nature, is non-threatening.
For example, I am currently on a quest to lose those last stubborn ten pounds. My first thought? How can I live without all those culinary comforts that have befriended me for so long? French fries, ice cream, and other fatty foods have been my best friends for years, magically beckoning to me in times of trouble. Sugary snacks at work give me energy to plow through the mid-afternoon slump, and salty potato chips serve as rewards for enduring another day of “the grind” when I get home. It’s a lovely cycle, except when I get on the scale. This is where small change comes in.
I decide to only take away sugary sodas and sweet tea from my diet. This, in itself, subtracts three hundred calories a day. Three hundred times seven days a week equals 2,100 calories gone.
I decide that I can also live without my medium Dunkin Donuts coffee each morning with cream and sugar, with a calorie count of 190. I will instead drink coffee from home with only powdered creamer, which is 20 calories. There are 130 more calories gone in a day.
These two changes will result in almost a pound of weight loss a week, being that a pound is 3500 calories.
But the magic doesn’t end there.
Beyond the calories saved, these small changes will shift my body hormonally. According to an article in Health.com by Sarah DiGiulio entitled “6 Really Good Things That Happen to Your Body When You Quit Sugar,” she explains that “sugary fare spikes your blood sugar, triggering a flood of insulin through your body, which over time encourages fat to accumulate around your middle.” Less belly fat? I like it. I like it a lot.
But wait, that’s not it. My metabolism will also speed up as well because refined foods put your insulin into overdrive. Reader’s Digest article “7 Ways You Can Boost Your Metabolism” states that “overstimulated insulin” can cause your metabolism to slow.
So by implementing these two small changes, I am cutting calories, decreasing belly fat, and increasing metabolism, each change working in its own way to contribute to successful weight loss.
Bottom line?
Even if I still eat all those other “fun foods,” I will still lose weight. The process may be slower than it could be, but I will still be making progress towards achieving my goal.
All of these wonderful benefits borne of two small changes. And I haven’t even discussed the emotional metamorphosis that accompanies any act of positive change.
If I lose pounds, I will feel more attractive, more empowered, more confident that I can make more changes to improve my life, quite likely even ones that do not involve weight.
You see?
Small changes, like a rock thrown in a stream, create a ripple of effects.
How can you implement this principle?
- Think about the areas of your life that make you unhappy.
- Pick a small change that you could live with implementing.
- Begin!
It’s that easy.
Want to be more fit? Do a 10-minute workout every day.
Want to change jobs? Search for possible options and just put out resumes.
Want to improve your marriage? Make once a week date nights.
The list goes on and on.
One of my favorite authors, Anais Nin, is credited with saying, “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
Just as a rose unfolds slowly, petal by petal, so too can you blossom. I, for one, can’t wait a day longer to become the rose I was meant to be.
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This post was previously published on Change Becomes You and is republished here with permission from the author.
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Photo credit: iStock
