What you do everyday matters 

If you want to direct your life on a path of continual positive change, then you need to tap into the most powerful force for change in the universe. Fortunately for you, that force is always with you, ready to lend a hand if you just ask. That force is time. Time is the force that magnifies those simple daily disciplines into massive success. There is a natural progression to success: plant, cultivate, harvest—and the central step, cultivate, can only happen over the long run.

Most of us don’t notice the impact of tiny things that we do every day. When it comes to change and growth, we want to see big, visible signs of improvement. We want to see our savings grow, our skills improve, or our race times shorten.  We can’t always perceive (and therefore don’t value) the tiny, daily signs of change. This is where bad habits creep in. It’s easy to do the bad habit. It seems insignificant. Whether I do it or not, I don’t see the impact straight away.

In the Slight Edge book, author Jeff Olson uses his decades of experience as a personal development specialist to help us understand the power of small choices to impact the big picture of our lives. If we don’t pay attention to the little things, we do every day, we may end up asking the frustrated question that none of us want to ask: “How did I end up here?”

When it comes to our finances, our health, our personal development, or our relationships, Olson says that all of us are on one of two horizontal lines. The lines look parallel; however, one line is arching very slightly upwards and one line is arching very slightly downwards. Over time, the lines get farther and farther apart. Only over time, does it become apparent whether you are on the upper line (success) or lower (failure) line.