Okay, the title is a bit of a mouthful. So is ‘eating the elephant’, the concept of breaking down a huge task or goal into digestible chunks. Desmond Tutu is quoted as saying “there is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time.”
Do you agree?
Lets do the exercise for the potentially ambiguous post title I’ve used.
Compounding
What is compounding?
Compounding is a term often used in finance and is about building on what you have and as a result, the results will positively snowball.
So, if you have a savings account and consistently inject money into that account. You accrue a percentage of interest and the more you save, the bigger value that percentage will be.
This can be applied to our learning or other personal goals such as getting fit or losing weight.
If right now you could only run to your fridge, then with some consistent effort you could run further, perhaps eventually running 5k weekly with no extreme effort on your part. If 5k becomes your base then you can keep building and as you get fitter, shed weight – the results of your consistency are ‘compounded’.
I say this a lot but 1% progress is better than 0%
If you have learned a little more about yourself or about coding every single day, or even every week. Then you are compounding your knowledge and are working towards your goal.
Sustainable
So, we know that consistent effort will get us going in the direction towards our goals. Our big goals aren’t achievable in the short-term, so we need a mid-term and long-term plan to harness what we want.
I’ll stick with running as an example. If I want to run a marathon, but have little experience with running – I cannot expect to step out of the door and run 26 miles. I would need to think about what is possible right now, what changes can be made to get me ‘marathon fit’. The obvious way would be to run often, eat well and gradually increase the distance run until I’m close to marathon distance.
I’d need to think about how long that may take me, perhaps a mid-term goal to know I’m on track, when would I expect to be fit enough to run a half-marathon? and then 3/4 of a marathon?
I’m sure you can see and understand that a regular running habit, and a disciplined diet would gradually ‘compound’ results and make strides towards targets. I’m sure it wouldn’t be easy but I’m also sure that with consistency the results would be far better than skipping days and deviating from the plan.
To be honest, training for a marathon sounds torturous to me but many people do it.
This section is more about sustainability. Making change and keeping it changed. How can we make progress that is sustainable?
My suggestion is to make it fun, or at the very least tolerable. Some people love going to the gym for gruelling workouts or running until they nearly pass out.
I don’t.
I do like to run however, and the only way I can remain consistent with running is if I make it fun. When I run I don’t set a time, or a pace – I just run! Some people may listen to a podcast or some music as a distraction from the running. Me? In recent times, I’ve ditched the earphones and instead focus on all the sights and sounds on my run through the nearby countryside. It really clears my head, which helps me to focus, to work and to learn.
It’s a win win situation.
The fact that I feel cleansed by running rather than wanting to collapse really sets me up for the day. If I am focused and can learn more. Then I make greater strides in this whole compounding malarky.
So, sustainability for me is to be consistent, and to be consistent is to only set yourself a target that you can honestly achieve and keep doing – for the rest of your life if necessary. Don’t try to push yourself to code 12 hours a day if you find it complex and are flagging after 2 hours. If you’re flagging after 2 hours, take a break, maybe try a little more after a break, but then give yourself a pat on the back and go about doing something else with your day.
It is better than burning out.
Don’t let the desperation of wanting change in your life crush you if it doesn’t happen instantly. I feel this is a symptom of our modern culture, don’t get sucked into it.
Trust me, I am well aware of the desperation. I want to shed some pounds and when I eat well and exercise for a week I can’t understand why I’ve not yet undone a few years of negligence in my diet. Duh.
Changes
I feel this doesn’t need much explanation. There is something you want to happen, to make it happen, you either need to start doing something, stop doing something, or modify something you’re currently doing.
Me, I want to lose some weight, manage my free time better and push on in my career.
What are you looking to change?
for 2024
Again, do I need to explain? I also want to own my own home outright, can I do that in a year? Doubt it. But, could I manage my money better and save a little more – compound that interest? Yes.
So, have a think about what you can do this year, starting today – don’t fall for the whole ‘I’ll start next week” or “I’ll diet after holiday”. In my experience, if I do that, I’m just kicking the can down the road and will find other excuses the next week, or after the holiday.
You should be excited to be making change, whether it is going for a run or learning to code. It should be exciting. If it’s not, think about why. Is this the path for you? Or, are you approaching it with the wrong intentions or emotions?
Summary
Putting it all together – “Compounding Sustainable Changes for 2024” is a great way to approach the year, to consciously get your life pulling in the right direction.
I want to recommend a few books the relate to habit forming and also how our brain works which may benefit you. Hopefully the titles explain precisely how they’ll help you.
Check our the Resources page for more!