How can small changes cause big effects?
Let’s face the facts…most people do not like change of any kind. Change can be daunting, especially when making drastic changes for our health.
Have you been told by your doctor that you have to exercise more, lose weight, and cut out sugar? What about getting more sleep? Reading more books, reducing your screen time? These are great advice for almost all of us…
…and if you’re like me, you already know this advice!
If your even the slightest bit like every other person that is walking the Earth right now, you don’t like to make big changes. Those listed changes sound like HUGE transformations!
But, I bet you’ve been experiencing small changes without even noticing it.
What small changes are sneaking by?
One small change that I bet you noticed this past week is that we are having longer daylight times. Every day since mid February, the northern hemisphere of the Earth is adding 3-minutes of daylight.
We don’t actively observe those changes taking place on a daily basis. It’s kinda like those added pounds of weight that sneak on around our waist without our noticing…until we try on some summer clothing.
Now, each day brings noticeably more daylight. The start of Daylight Savings Time this past weekend greatly accentuated this change.
We don’t add more daylight by changing the time, it just makes it more noticeable because we shift our clocks to put that daylight at a more usable time of day. After all, having a sunshiny morning start at 6 a.m. does not often allow us to use that time to get things done.
But move that extra daylight time to the afternoon, and viola! We have seemingly a huge amount of extra light…which was gained at an approximate rate of 3-minutes per day. Small change, big effect!
How small of a change can cause a big effect?
Consider this…a merchant ship takes a huge time and distance to make a 90-degrees turn. How is that turn made?
Well, you probably know that the rudder is what steers the ship. But, have you ever considered how the rudder gets turned?
I bet you’re thinking that’s an obvious question. The captain spins that big wheel with all the spokes sticking out side of the wheel. Well, yes, that’s true.
Do you know what that wheel is actually connected to? Hint, it’s not the rudder.
What the captain actually is affecting a very small part at the end of the rudder called a trim tab. The trim tab makes a very small change in the force of the water, which then assists the captain in being able to turn the rudder, and therefore turn the ship.
Without the trim tab, the weight of the ship and the force of the water resistance would make it impossible to move the rudder from being straight.
The trim tab needs to make that small change to initiate the shift in the rudder…leading to the big effect of turning the entire ship.
Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.
Why small changes can have big effects on you.
So in getting back to the beginning, we (at least I) don’t like to make changes. It’s a lot of work, just like turning that cruising ship. I just want to keep going in the same direction that I have been, because that’s just easier.
But consider this little tidbit as well.
If I do not change my course, correct my mistakes, or even notice that I’m off in my perception, I could be miles away from my target.
When a plane flies only 1-degree off course without a course correction, it will fail to reach its destination. In fact, it won’t even come close.
If that plane was flying from San Francisco to L.A., it would be 6-miles off target! No runway there!
It gets worse if going further. San Fran to D.C. would be off by 42.6-miles. That’s landing in Baltimore, not D.C.
But if the pilot makes that 1-degree correction, you will reach your destination without even noticing the change!
Can you think of a small correction that you could make, a 1-degree change, to improve how quickly and accurately you reach your goals?
What small changes can help you have big effects for your favorite activity?
Now, back to that advice that we all know, but don’t actually do anything about. You know, those things you were told by your doctor.
Exercise more, lose weight, and cut out sugar.
Get more sleep, read more books, reduce your screen time.
Daunting…like turning that ship.
But remember, a 1-degree course change could avoid the disastrous ending.
So don’t try to make changes with everything all at once. Perhaps you could just make a very small change…like the trim tab size change…and see how much easier it gets to turn the tough decisions of your life and health into easier choices.
What small change could you make to have a big effect?
Here are a few that can serve as examples of how you start:
Put your phone down, turn of the TV and computer screens 30-minutes before you want to go to sleep.
Read a real book before bed…one printed on paper, not on a screen.
Get to bed 5-minutes earlier than usual. (That adds up to 35-minutes of extra sleep every week!)
Don’t order the venti cappuccino at Starbucks, get the tall, or grande if you need to. You’ll cut the sugar nearly in half!
Cut out one soda a day, and switch it with a glass of water. A single can of soda can have 37-40 grams of sugar, which is way more than the recommended daily limit of 25mg total sugars!
Walk a little more through the day. Get up from your desk and walk around the office. Or, after eating lunch, instead of looking at social media, go for a 10-minute walk outside.
Take a walk for about 10-minutes after your largest meal of the day. This helps reduce your body’s sugar spike and can help reduce insulin problems that are a major cause of obesity in our society.
Please do not think that I’m suggesting that you need to do all of these…or any of these for that matter. These are merely examples of small changes that, when implemented consistently through a week, month, or year, could add up to a big effect for you.
But imagine if those small consistent changes helped you drop 10-pounds, get a little stronger, and feel more refreshed when you wake up. How big of an effect could that have on what you are able to do in a day?
Summary
You can change.
You just need to start small.
When you’re deciding what to do, consider the “trim tab method.” That’s how small changes cause big effects.
Choose a small change, make that change consistently, and see what a big effect that can have on your health, ability to move, and on your life in general.
If you’re unsure of what changes to make, or in what order to make the changes, talk with one of the therapists at Lifestrength Physical Therapy. We can help guide you in those small changes that can lead to big effects in your active life.
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