Trajectory of Change

We are coming up on the last part of the year and I am starting to hear talk of New Year’s resolutions. Unfortunately, I’ve also heard phrases like “I’ll at least try it for a few weeks” attached to their pledges. To me, that sounds more like an experiment than a commitment, and it’s setting them up for failure.

With idealistic tendencies, we often set out to make major adjustments in hopes of making an immediate impact in our lives, only to end up faltering and giving up. Maybe the commitment was too much or our resolve too little, but in either case, the change didn’t last and the New You starts acting like the Old You very quickly.

Even if the resolutions seem small, focus on making sustainable, enduring changes. In time, even seemingly insignificant alterations in course and trajectory will make a huge difference in where you end up. Time and distance are the major variables, more than the degree of change. A small improvement compounded over a long time will make a much greater impact in your life than a major, but short-lived, shift.

Seek sustainable change.

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