So, I don’t know if you guys have heard of The Minimalists, but they are these two guys that had these 6-figure-a-year jobs and one day, just completely walked away from the rat race and now advocate a minimalist lifestyle. Now before you hit delete or want to skip this post and cuddle and hold close all of your prized possessions, hold on a second. I am not here to talk about minimalism. I repeat, I am not here to talk about minimalism. I am not jumping on that bandwagon. Whew…
What I do want to talk about is this amazing sentence that they tweeted out that I absolutely love and how I am applying it differently than what they probably meant.
Ready? Here it is:
We can live a meaningful life by taking tiny little actions each day that have a significant long-term impact on our lives.
I believe this to be a powerful little sentence folks, especially when you think about it in the context of your health. I have mentioned here and on Instagram, that I am trying to be more healthy and make smarter decisions with what I eat. Last year, I became aware that I had a gluten sensitivity and at first I was like, okay I can do this, no problem. But after awhile, I rebelled. Screw you gluten! I am going to eat a bagel and I don’t care what havoc you wreak on my body. Soooo, guess how long that lasted? Yeah, that was not a good idea. My childish behavior made me sick until I just finally came to terms that I simply cannot have gluten. I am at peace with that, but let me tell you, it took a long time.
My point in laying out my bellyache woes to you is that I had to actually choose my health and make that a priority. I had to take those “tiny little actions” to make my life gluten-free, because that impacts my life long-term. I want a long, and definitely meaningful, life. I want to live life to the fullest. I want to thrive. And I couldn’t do that when I wasn’t taking the proper steps to do just that.
If you are trying to get healthy because you’ve got your own health issues, I am here to tell you that getting overwhelmed won’t help your situation. You don’t have to be overwhelmed. You don’t have to take giant steps.
Take tiny little actions.
Maybe one day, you add just one vegetable to each meal that day. Maybe you decide to incorporate more vegetarian meals into your meal planning. Maybe you decide to read some food blogs by people who know what they are talking about and you make some of their recipes. Whatever you decide to do, you don’t have to do it all at once. Maybe you try something new once a day. Maybe for you, once a week is the most you can try and alter the way you eat.
All of that is okay. Remember it’s the tiny little actions that steer you towards a meaningful life and impact your life in the best way possible.
If you have been wanting to change some aspect of your life and don’t know how to do it, maybe this post is for you. Maybe your health isn’t the issue but being stuck in a dead-end job is. What tiny little actions can you take to get you on the path towards a more meaningful life? Can you work on your resume today? Can you call a friend and have them help do a “mock interview” with you so you can brush up on your interview skills? Maybe browse some courses at the local community college to see if there are some classes you can take to make yourself more marketable?
We can live a meaningful life by taking tiny little actions each day that have a significant long-term impact on our lives.
Write this sentence down. Put it on a post-it note. Put it where you can see it.
What needs working on in your life? What are your “tiny little actions”?
What a great tweet! It’s so true that a small action can have a huge impact. I actually see this quite a bit in my clients. They want to make huge monumental changes all at once. While I applaud their decision to make good, positive money changes, I also know for most people that they need to go slowly and start with something small and often relatively easy to work their way up to the more difficult changes. And like you with your gluten-sensitivity, sometimes we have to rebel first before we can accept. 🙂
Yes it is very difficult to make big sweeping changes when you have to do something different in your life, whether it is your finances or your health. Start with small things and work your way towards your goal! 🙂 Rebelling before accepting, that’s how we humans roll 😉
I have not heard of them but I LOVE that tweet. It’s exactly what I needed to hear. Small actions do lead to results, sometimes HUGE ones and get me headed in the right direction versus spinning wheels. Spinning my wheels and thinking instead of doing is something I struggle with and am working on changing! Tiny actions I need to take – buy a swimsuit (want to exercise regularly), outline book ideas (not necessarily a tiny action but I need to get them written down or I will forget them).
Sorry to hear about your gluten sensitivity. There was a time when I was concerned I had a problem but apparently don’t. I did avoid eating gluten, but I ate a LOT of potatoes. 🙂 I love me some carbs so the thought of no bread and pasta freaked me out and I went on a mashed potato binge! It was a few years ago, so there weren’t so many gluten-free breads and pasta available. Being overly dramatic, I thought it was the end of the world. 🙂
Ugh, the gluten-free thing was seriously the bane of my existence for quite awhile. But I can still have pasta and bread and bagels and stuff, I just have to buy the gluten-free kind. I know which brands I like and which ones taste like sandpaper 🙂
Yes, I love this quote that they have. It reminds me to keep doing the little things and I hope that everyone knows that they really can make changes in their life and have a healthier, more positive outcome.
ooh such a good question Mackenzie! For me right now it’s working on my side business (my blog) but hope to make my full time business (dare to dream). I get overwhelmed when I think about all the things I WANT to do, so it’s important I take a step back and just do a little at a time. It’s tough though. I want to be doing so much more!
I know you’ve put in a lot of hard work on your blog and I just know that it will pay off HUGE and you will totally turn that into a full-time business!!!! 🙂
Small actions: my new fave trick is grating carrot into dishes. Sneaky sneaky.
I honestly think I’m at a stage where little actions are not cutting it. What is needed is a BIG change.
Oh, that’s a good idea about the carrot. I sneak spinach into my smoothies 🙂
Hey big changes are good too! Sometimes you need a shake-up 😉
What an awesome post, Mackenzie. I have had those same struggles with wheat and sugar, but I am slowly learning that it really is better for me to stay away from it. Hard to choose health over rebellion sometimes, isn’t it. 🙂
Aw thanks, Laurie! Yup being healthy and being rebellious don’t go hand in hand 😉
[…] second one is from Mackenzie at The Random Path called A Meaningful Life. “We can live a meaningful life by taking tiny little actions each day that have a […]
This is very true – and very hard to apply. When it comes to “tiny little actions”, I find myself thinking , “It’s not enough!” or “It’s so difficult/unpleasant/scary for such a small thing, so it’s not worth it.” But of course, it IS enough, and it IS worth it. Thanks for a great post – and a great defense against self-sabotage.
Yup, we’ve all been there thinking that what we are doing is not enough, but it really is the little things that keep us going and persevering! 🙂
[…] A Meaningful Life: “Remember it’s the tiny little actions that steer you towards a meaningful life and impact your life in the best way possible”. Are you living a meaningful life? […]