The Power of Starting Small

You’re stressed out. You search online for ways to reduce your stress. Pages and pages of articles, blog posts and how-to videos show up. You pick three things to try and set out to conquer Mt Stressmore.

But after 2 weeks go by, you’re still stressed and determine none of these things actually works.

Sound familiar?

Why is this? Why is it that even though other people swear by the things you just tried, they didn’t work for you?

Chances are you dove in the deep end and it was too much to sustain long term. This is actually pretty common.

So how can you course correct? Try starting small. By starting small with something new, you give yourself the chance to build a habit around doing the activity, with little resistance to keep going.

Take for instance the Harper Douglas Find Your Steady web app that is included with every candle purchase. You might want to dive right in and do everything it has to offer. And that is great if you’ve already established daily habits around improving your wellbeing. But if this is brand new, pick one thing to do. Try just doing the 3 minute breathing exercise for a week or two. Once you’ve established a habit of doing this, add the daily de-stress prompt to your routine.

Want to go even smaller, just practice lighting the candle and scanning the app everyday. You don’t even have to do anything with it. Just get in the habit of starting the ritual.

If this sounds overly simple, great. That is what is supposed to be. Half the battle is getting started. The other half is sticking with it. Before you know it, you’re doing things everyday that help you improve your wellbeing by reducing stress. 

One other note, there are lots of ways to reduce stress. If one method doesn’t work, keep trying until you find the one that works for you.

(Image Credit: Engin Akyurt)