Small steps have the ability to lead to substantial change. In fact, hoping for true change without small steps is much less achievable for most. Why?
First off, going “Completely Clean” is what I like to consider making a gigantic change, or all your changes at once. This seems like the golden way to change your life, right? Well, wrong… Making too many changes at once can be stressful, hard to maintain, and overwhelming.
A quote from my journal during my eating disorder recovery in 2018 represents how I felt after giving up the “completely clean” mindset:
“Something that really surprises me is how easy it has been to incorporate variety back into my diet. It is so much easier that I don’t have to deal with the obsessive thinking around food, which literally felt like I was driving myself insane.” Kathryn Marie (Pg. 2, 7:00 am, in-patient, 2018)
This quote demonstrates how stressful having food rules or “clean” eating rules can be. Therefore, instead of all-or-nothing thinking, I challenge you to try making small steps (ex. adding in one additional serving of fruit or vegetables every day), and see what happens!
Small steps keep goals reasonable and achievable. In addition, coming up with goals signifies that you’re putting thought into your highest and lowest priorities. “Agenda Mapping” if you will. Amongst choosing what is most important for you, you may also learn about your desires, what seems achievable, the reasons beyond the decision making, and why changing is worthwhile.
People often underestimate (or overestimate) their readiness for change. Sometimes, change seems much easier prior to initiating it. Or on the other hand, sometimes change seems impossible. Either way, using small steps as a means to reach a goal helps you to better understand what is, and what is not, helpful.
Something that stuck with me from college was this concept: 'for change to be properly implemented, one must first determine if they are either 1. open to, or 2. ready for, change.' Being open to change allows you to consider potential benefits of changing, and/or consequences of not changing. However, being ready to change improves the odds of the actual behavior change, rather than just consideration of the different outcomes.
If you decide that you feel open to change, but not ready for change, that is NORMAL. It just reiterates the importance of small steps and setting yourself up for success.
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