New Year… New Me?

We all know the dealio: once New Year’s hits, the gyms get full, people swear off sugar, or carbs, or thoughtless spending. And while some are in the camp of routinely and resolutely advocating for some change in lifestyle every year, others are not as inclined to do so, perhaps discouraged by past failures. 

Nonetheless, there is something meaningful about using the new year as a means to drive change. Pertinent to this month, but potentially to the rest of our lives, let’s talk about the power of small steps to achieve our goals, regardless of how lofty or vague they might sound on January 1. 

After a devastating injury where he had to relearn everything from breathing, to walking, to getting back on the baseball field, James Clear wrote Atomic Habits as a record of using seemingly minor improvements to achieve life changing results. And get this – he says a key part of habit-making is actually about your mindset towards achieving that goal, which can also be helpful in overcoming discouragement when it comes to resolutions.

Here are three helpful tips he outlines as you embark on achieving your New Year’s goals:

1. Identity

   “Research has shown that once a person believes in a particular aspect of their identity, they are more likely to act in alignment with the belief” (34).

   As important as it is to break down a goal into manageable steps, it turns out that the precursor to that is to first establish for yourself that you want to be the type of person who [insert goal]. So with your new habits, think about it as reinforcing the new identity you want to build. For example, if you show up at the gym five days in a row – even if it’s just for two minutes – you’re casting votes for your new identity, focusing on becoming the type of person who doesn’t miss workouts (165).

   So this year, when you find yourself really not wanting to go to the gym, or read, or whatever your resolution entails, identify yourself as someone who is a reader, or who never misses a workout, and see what it does!

2. It’s better to do less than you hoped than to do nothing at all

Clear also repeatedly talks about how something is better than nothing. This mentality fits neatly into the identity-building mentality, where it’s the long-term game rather than focusing all your efforts on achieving a goal like, “I want to work out more” or “I want to read the Bible more.” After all, one push up is better than not exercising at all and one page is better than never having picked up a book at all. Use this method to overcome the mountain it feels like you’re scaling when you really really don’t want to complete your new routine.

So even if it feels like the bare minimum, don’t underestimate the power of one small step! After all, habits are things that eventually become automatic functions, things that don’t take as much mental power to perform, but they have to start somewhere.

3. Decisive Moments

“It really is a few habitual choices that determine the path you take. These little choices stack up, each one setting the trajectory for how you spend the next chunk of time” (162).

You always hear people say that the hardest part about doing something is getting started;  I think we can all attest to that. And it’s here that James Clear leaves us with the two-minute rule: when you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do. You’ll find nearly every habit can be scaled down into a two-minute version:

1. Read before bed each night → read one page

2. Do thirty minutes of yoga → take out my yoga mat

3. Study for class → open my notes

4. Run three miles → tie my running shoes

Wow! Doesn’t that just simplify things? The key is getting started. Instead of getting bogged down by the thought of doing a new activity your body isn’t used to for the next 30 minutes to an hour, just focus on the first two minutes. That decisive moment leads to another step, until you find yourself accomplishing more than you would have last year.

One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” Neil Armstrong

Speaking of significant small steps, during the first service of the year, Pastor Manny spoke of the significance of first steps, and quoted Neil Armstrong’s, the first man to land on the moon, famous words, “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” One small step leads to another, which leads to another until over time you realize the significance of that first step. James Clear talks about this same concept as these small improvements: “It is easy to overestimate the importance of one defining moment and underestimate the value of making small improvements on a daily basis. Too often, we convince ourselves that massive success requires massive action.” (15)

In David’s case, his response to this giant and powerful Philistine man, was to act with a step of faith and says, “who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26). Faith is something that combats the paralyzing effects of fear and moves us into action, allowing us to collect memories over time of how God has been faithful to us in uncertain circumstances. These memories then empower and equip us to face challenges or scary steps of faith in the future. One step leads to another, and just like any habit, our small steps of faith can have eternal impact.