Daily Gratitude: “For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end.”

What a great way to say that you should be proud of little “accomplishments”, no matter how tiny.

What is important is to be continually working toward becoming a better version of yourself. It’s not that hard to do and as with all change, the smaller the steps, the easier it is to keep the change going.

Why are small steps good? For a lot of reasons. A small step is easier to grasp in your mind. It’s not so intimating that you hold your hands up and say “whoa. I can’t do that”.

For instance if you want to start a walking program, your small step could be putting on shorts or shoes or maybe even “gasp” both. OR it could be just opening the front door and stepping outside. That’s it. You can give yourself a gold star. And do this for a few days in a row and see what happens. What’s the next small step you end up taking. If you’re still stuck at step one, come up with another tiny one.

Small steps are often so small that no one else will recognize it as something important – other than you of course. That should remove a lot of the fear of judgment. You know. The “What will people think” or “what will people say” phenomenon that takes over your mind instead of the joy of trying something new.

Pick out one thing you think would make you a better person. Perhaps it’s giving at least one compliment every day (sure you could say “I should give 50 compliments a day” and maybe even that would be great- but what’s the probability you’re going to do it every day?). So stick to one.

Or maybe you ultimately want to stop complaining. That’s too vague a statement. How can you make it doable? Maybe something like “the first time I start to complain today, I will say “stop” and pause for a minute. During that minute analyze what you REALLY were complaining about, what you were feeling, what you secretly were wanting. All those thoughts and feelings that lie behind your complaint. And Just once is all you need as your aim for the day.

Once you’ve decided, write it on an index card or a piece of paper and put that in your kitchen by the first thing you go to – Perhaps your coffee pot or cup. Or maybe your refrigerator.

The point is to see it early in the morning. Read it and put it in your mind. Then go about your business.

See what happens. I bet you’ll be surprised at the results.