Happy Halloween! Around this time last year, I wrote about being startled by a big, scary skeleton that emerged from the mist one morning while I was walking my kiddo to the bus stop. It was firmly planted in front of our neighbour’s home, safeguarding it from approaching strangers. It fit well with the signs out front that read, “Go away” and “Not Welcome” that cheerfully graced the front of their house. 👻
As the weeks went by, the skeleton became more charming than scary and we felt kindly watched over while we shivered at the bus stop. It’s a good thing because Halloween passed and we soon realized he would be a year-round fixture. He stood tall and vigilant until a violent windstorm knocked his towering figure to the ground, breaking his support leg. His family lovingly relocated him to a seated position in their front flowerbed, adorning his skull with a Cinco de Mayo themed crown of flowers. Over the summer, a bush began to grow through his ribcage, firmly rooting him in place for the rest of time.
As I took in his jaunty grin one morning last week, I thought about the things that had changed since he’d first appeared from the mist this time last year.
And I wondered, what comes up for you when you think about your own year? If you could go back to October 31st, 2023, and make one change, what would it be?
What’s held you back from making that change?
Is it that you feel like you have to bite off more than you’re ready, willing, or able to chew to make any headway? We often believe that if the change we make is not extreme, the results won’t be immediately recognized. And this delayed gratification is a deal breaker. You might not want to dive into the extreme, but you also don’t want to wait months for the result.
But what if you did one tiny, unintimidating thing today? And tomorrow, you did it again. And the next day, and the next day. How would that change things for you in a year from now?
Let’s take the example of committing to going for a 20-minute walk, five days a week. That’s as small as 10 minutes down the road and back, or maybe just walking around your block. It’s not far and it doesn’t take much effort. You probably won’t even break a sweat.
You’re likely thinking to yourself, It’s not worth it, what’s a 20-minute walk going to do for me anyway? Why would I even bother?
Let me tell you. Walking that short distance will add about 100 calories to your overall energy expenditure per day. If you do it five days a week, that’s about the equivalent of 2000 calories per month. It still doesn’t seem like much, but over a whole year it would equate to about 26,000 extra calories burned, or around seven and a half pound’s worth of energy that wouldn’t be stored on your body.
It’s a small commitment day to day, but repeated regularly over time, it could mean seven or so extra pounds lost if you’re on a weight loss journey, and if you’re not, at the very least it can help you maintain your weight over the year. And that’s without even digging into all the other physical and mental health benefits that come with walking.
Does it seem worth it enough to bother now?
The point here is that doing something just slightly above nothing can still stack up to have surprising benefits over the long-term. When you start, you won’t feel like it’s going to do much, but if you look at it like compounding interest, you can see it for the gamechanger it is. Over a year, it can move you forward more than you could ever have imagined.
Look back on what has stopped you from committing to doing something in the service of your goals over the last year. There might be a multitude of reasons, but here are a couple that I often hear:
I want to, but I just don’t feel motivated
I don’t have enough time
Let’s break these down.
Lack of motivation
When it comes to a lack of motivation to do the “things”, waiting for inspiration or motivation to kick in is going to have you putting your goals on pause for a very long time, if not indefinitely. The thing is, you have to take action before you feel like doing it.
Only action creates change and getting past the belief that only extreme action makes change is the first step in moving forward. Choose something tiny like that 20-minute walk if you want to improve your fitness or lose weight. Proving to yourself that you CAN do that one thing will likely be the catalyst that creates the motivation or inspiration to turn that walk into a light jog or extend the walk to 30 minutes.
Lack of time
Feeling like you don’t have enough time to take on anything else, is valid. Everyone is busy and going in multiple directions daily. I get it. But pay attention to the language of your thoughts. If you’re constantly thinking to yourself or even saying out loud to others, “There never seems to be enough time”, try reworking this sentence to “I don’t have enough time to prioritize X because I’m choosing to do Y instead.”
In everything we do, we decide what we’re saying no to, so we can say yes to something else. If your goal is to prioritize your health and wellness, what can you say no to, so you can say yes to that goal? What are you doing with your time and where can you swap one thing for another?
Maybe instead of scrolling your phone for 20-minutes in the morning, you put on a podcast or listen to an audiobook and head outside for a brisk walk. If it’s too cold, dark, dreary, or you can’t leave the house because of the kids, can you turn on the news or tune into your favourite on-demand show and hit the treadmill? Or maybe follow a 20-minute workout video or yoga sequence?
Whether it’s buying into the idea that only extreme changes get results, you can’t start until you feel motivated, or you don’t have the time, rewrite your narrative this year. Choose one thing that’s just a bit better than doing nothing and imagine what it might change for you by October 31, 2025. Then, without waiting for things to be perfect before you get started, just start!
Don’t spend another year choosing to let your goals pass you by.
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