By Stephanie Green
When it comes to making changes in your life sometimes it can feel overwhelming. You know that you need to change certain things about your behaviors and habits that negatively impact your life but getting started seems like too big of a hurdle to cross. Instead of looking at the big picture, however, it is much easier to start small and work your way up. Just like you would not expect to be able to run a marathon without working up to it you can’t expect to make huge life changes all at once. Here are some little things you can change to improve your life in big ways:
1. Getting fit – When most of us think about getting fit we picture hours at the gym and spending time we don’t have to do hard work we don’t want to do. But it doesn’t have to be like that. Getting fit can start as simply as five minutes a day. Just five minutes. For me that means before I go to lunch I shut my office door and do some sit-ups, push-ups and leg lifts. That’s it. Just five minutes of that and I move on to lunch. No one notices and it doesn’t make an impact on my schedule, but it has started to make an impact on my waistline. Another thing you can do is go for a walk after dinner. Instead of plopping down on the couch try to work off some of that food on a casual twenty minute walk around the neighborhood. It will be done in no time and you can get back to your night.
2. Planning ahead – Getting organized and staying on top of things seems overwhelming. There is so much to do and so little time to do it. When I don’t plan ahead and prioritize I find myself getting overwhelmed. However I though planning ahead was too much to add to my plate. Gradually I learned that if you stop and take care of the small things immediately and write down a list of the big things it really helps. Once I have a list I can prioritize what needs to get done by level of urgency and time constraints. Then things just seem to fall into place. I can take care of what needs to be done now and already have a plan for what is going on later. It takes off a lot of stress, worry and wasted effort.
3. Being in the now – Last but not least focus on being in the now. I was always so worried about the future or feeling guilty about the past that I never existed in the present. By shifting my focus to now I can deal with things in a timely manner and not be held back by my previous mistakes. I can also make a plan for the future and then set it aside because it is already taken care of. Whew, what a relief!
These are just a few suggestions for small things you can do to make a big impact on your life. Start small and simply and do one thing at a time. You will find that everything gets done and with far less stress.
– Stephanie has many years of experience as a nanny. She has always loved children and has continuously been involved in childcare activities. Currently she is one of the writers for houstonnanny.com. If you want to get in touch with her, you can email her at – [email protected].