How to make a change without making yourself crazy
From Rowena Hardy, Minds Aligned
We’ve been working on gradually changing the internal look and feel of our home, and I was recently introduced to chalk paint. It’s probably best to admit right now that I’m far from creative in many ways and somewhat lazy when it comes to certain things so what appealed about the chalk paint was that it was quick and easy to apply with immediate results. And that got me thinking…
Like a lot of people, I imagine, we have items of furniture that we’ve had for a while and chose because they suited a certain room or area at the time. Times change, tastes change, you move things around and suddenly the same pieces seem clumsy and out of place. Well not anymore! Thanks to the chalk paint in sample pots, a suitable brush and a husband who embraced the idea of updating the almost redundant items even more than I did, 24 hours later we are the proud owners of three refurbished items that look wonderful in our new scheme.
You may be thinking “Well that’s all very interesting but so what?!”
Perhaps my creativity is more frequently demonstrated in my thinking (and cooking) because I realised that the chalk paint epiphany is actually a metaphor for what we advocate to our clients and could be described as our byline for what we often talk about which is ‘small changes create great results’.
Here is what I mean. When life gets tough, we often feel as though we want to change everything in our life but have no idea where to start, what to do or how to do it and that leads to overwhelm and inaction. In fact, the best way out of any problem, challenge, or unexpected event is to take it step by step. Even though it may seem that large, sweeping changes are necessary, it’s often the worst way to approach it as we risk throwing the baby out with the bathwater. It’s actually the small changes that create the greatest results.
You may have discovered this for yourself already but, if not, then it’s worth considering. What’s the first thing that you can do? What small thing can you change easily that will give you a tangible result either immediately or very soon? Maybe it’s something about you? Your behaviour, your habits, your mindset, your ‘friends’, your environment? You know something needs to change because it’s having a negative impact on your life and only you have the power to take action on.
As with our furniture, being able to see different possibilities is often a valuable starting point and helps you decide what needs to go and what could be improved with a small change.
Which part of your life could benefit from that one small change?
