Speaker #1Welcome everybody to another episode of the Growth Gym Podcast, where growth is a journey and not a destination. I am your host, Chris Briggs. Thank you so much for joining me today. I know you had a plethora of podcasts you could have been listening to, doing your daily routine at work, on your way to work, or sitting at your desk, or whatever you may be doing. I know you could have been listening to anybody, but you stopped what you were doing and decided to listen to Growth Gems. And so we are grateful for you stopping and listening and wanting to be a part of this growth journey with us. And so today I need you to subscribe, share this with somebody. We got a great episode that is prepared for us today. And so today. I want to talk about something which sounds simple but has the power to completely change your life and it's small steps. I mean all of us love the big moments. I mean who doesn't? We all love the promotion. We love the graduation. We love the weight loss goal. We love the business launch, the new house, the finished book, and the moment when everything seemed like it's coming all together. But the reality is many people really don't understand that there was hundreds of small decisions which happened before the big moment. People never see really the early mornings, the extra hour of studying, the money, which was not spent, the workout when nobody was watching you, the application. which was submitted, the difficult conversations that had to take place and the decisions that you had to make. And that is why I want to remind you of this. Big moments get the attention, but small decisions create the transformation. Let me say that again. Big moments get the attention, but small decisions create transformation. So big changes usually have very small beginnings. So today I want us to answer one question. And I hope you got your pen and paper, your notes out, as I give you some growth gems and some principles that's going to help. But here goes the one question. How do small decisions create big change in your life? That's the question. The one question we're asking, how do small decisions create big change? in your life. There are four principles I want you to remember. The four principles, I'm going to give them to you and then we're going to go through them. All right. The four principles of understanding tiny steps and massive change is constant choices, compounding change, daily disciplines, and lasting legacy. Here go the first principle, constant consistent choices. Your life is really, and my life as well, is largely shaped by the choices you repeat. Not simply the choice that you make once, but it's the decision you make continuously. Everybody can eat one healthy meal. I mean, we all can exercise just at one time. Anybody can save money just at one. pay with that one paycheck, that one payday. Anybody can read 10 chapters one night. Anybody can wake up early one morning and the real question is not, can you do it once? The real question that we must ask is, can you make it part of the way you live? That's a good question, because I think many of us, we can do it once, but when it requires it to become a part of our daily. routine, and part of the way of life, that's when the challenge comes. But then also that's when growth happens. Because we often underestimate consistency because consistency is not exciting. Doing something over and over is not exciting. I mean, really, I promise you, sometimes, and you have to find, I think I need to pause and share something with us. I think you have to find The median the median and meet in the middle of finding excitement within the discipline. But honestly, being disciplined and making a consistent choice is not exciting. There's nothing really exciting about it. That should be real. There's nothing exciting about it. And nobody knows that the reality is nobody knows really. the challenge that's behind it because most growth happens without the applause, without people even seeing it. They see the results, but they don't see the choices. And that's why I like this thought, what you do occasionally may get attention, but what you do constantly changes your life. Let me say that again. What you do occasionally may get attention, but what you do constantly changes your life. Suppose you decide you want to read more. You make it a goal. If you want to read 50 books this year. And can I just be honest with y'all? I've been out of school during the summer months. And I'm ready to start school in just a few weeks. I think about two and a half, about a week and a half, two weeks. I'm ready to start school. And I had all intentions. I'm just going to be real with y'all. I had all intentions. I said, well, I'm going to read at least two books a month to stay sharp, keep my mind sharp. I've started, I picked up a book and I think I may have gotten to the third or fourth chapter. And I hadn't picked up a book since. Not saying I hadn't been reading, but I hadn't been reading a book. I've been reading other material, blogs and articles. I've been reading those, but I had set goals. And so... You set goals, but understanding that in setting those goals, sometimes you get off track. We get off track. And sometimes the same thing applies to all of our lives and every year of our life. You did not change your life because you did something for one time, but you changed your life because it became a part of your rhythm. And some of us... We have lost our rhythm. We have gotten off beat. And it's okay. It's okay. Because even our hearts, our hearts get out of rhythm. And they have to shock our hearts to put them back in rhythm. And that's where you are right now. You need a shocking, something that's going to shock you to put your life back in rhythm. And I'll be honest, not only just reading, I started out good, walking, getting up 5 a.m. every morning. And going walking, I mean, walking three miles every morning, coming home, doing my devotional reading by seven o'clock. Hey, I'm I'm I mean, hey, seven o'clock. I got a shower ready to eat breakfast. I mean, I'm it was it was becoming it was a rhythm that I had. And my family went, well, we're going to go out with you. Even when my wife didn't go, my kids didn't go. I did that every day. And I don't know what got me off rhythm. I don't know. I think it was just one day it rained and I said, well, I'm not going to go today. And it went from I'm not going to go today to I'm not going to go tomorrow to the next day. And I just got out of rhythm. So now I'm putting my life back in rhythm because I know the task that's great to come my way. And I'm going to have to have that time where I become I exercise my mind mentally, but physically. Right. So I got to make sure. So you don't you do not ask yourself only. What huge thing can I do? You start asking yourself, what small thing can I keep doing? That's the question you got to ask yourself. What small thing can I keep doing? Because consistency turns ordinary choices into extraordinary results. It's the small stuff. I mean, we want to start big, but it's all about the small stuff. Instead of eating so late to eight o'clock, just say, hey, I won't eat nothing after seven. I mean, we try and I think that's where we get discouraged because we want to try to try to do such a big task. And it requires so much for much for from us to fulfill it that we don't have the capacity to do it. And so we get discouraged because we can't fulfill the big task that we have before us. So we don't do nothing at all. But then, y'all, here go to second principle, the compounding chain. We understand compounding when we talk about money, right? Because a small amount invested consistently can grow over time because the growth begins producing more growth. But compounding does not only happen with money. Knowledge compounds. Relationship can compound and skills and health choices. And unfortunately, negative habits can compound too. That is what makes small decisions so powerful because one choice might not change much today. But if you repeat that one choice six months and repeat it for a year and repeat it for five years, now you're looking at a complete different life. So it's one choice that you might, one choice might not change much today, but over a length and period of time. That's why James Clear, he captured this idea while when he was writing, this idea, well, when he was writing, you should be far more concerned with your current trajectory than your current results. That matters because many of us quit too early because we don't see the result. I'm guilty. I tell on myself. I tell on myself because many of us, this is what we do. Many of us, we quit, but you can't quit because your result hadn't caught up to your routine. You can't quit. That's good. You can't quit because your results haven't caught up to your routine because sometimes your habits are working before you can see the evidence. Small improvements. have a way of accumulating. Eventually, what looked insignificant becomes undeniable. And so you're looking for visible results, but sometimes growth is happening before you receive a visible result. And that's why we quit because you work out for a week and you're looking for something drastic to happen. I mean, you save money for one month. And then, you know, you're like, well, I ain't wealthy. I don't have no money. I mean, you start creating content and nobody has seen or noticed your content yet. So you quit. I'm guilty of that. When I tell you I'm guilty of that, y'all, I mean, I'm posting, I'm doing. And it seems like the more I give of content, like the less people and everybody wants to use your algorithm in this. And you become discouraged. But this is the principle that we have to understand. Roots come before results. Roots come before results. That is good because sometimes your habits are working before you see the evidence. All right. Here's the third principle. You got to have daily discipline. This is where the conversation get real. I mean, it gets real because knowing what you should do does not mean you're going to do it. Oh, I know what I should be doing. I know. And y'all, I'm just going to be straightforward and honest with y'all. I'm talking to myself because I know what I'm supposed to be doing. And I know. But don't mean I'm going to do it because motivation feels great. But motivation is unreliable. Because some mornings I wake up, I just don't feel like I'm ready for the world. It's like the world is ready for me, but I ain't ready for it. And there's other moments, mornings that I feel like, hey, I can do anything. There are some days you, I mean, you are excited about your goals. And other days you question whether your goals are even worth it. I mean, that's just the reality of it. You got to have daily discipline. And I think that's one of the areas in my life where right now with, with, well, like I said, getting back in that constant, that, that, that, that constant choice and being, getting back in rhythm. What's going to help me get back in rhythm is repossessing my discipline. I mean, I start off good. Discipline, even in my health, I find myself slipping. Yeah. I mean, hey, and I mean, and I'll be like, why am I doing this? I know I don't. I know. I know I ain't supposed to be having it. I know I ain't supposed to be doing this. But I want to tell you, if your progress depends entirely on how you feel, your progress is going to be inconsistent because not all the time do we feel like it. Man, I promise there are days like right now. Can I just be transparent and real with y'all? I do not feel like recording this episode, but I got to because I don't know who this is going to help. Right now, I want to sit in my recliner, watch TV. Nobody's at home right now. I'm in my office at home and nobody's here but me and the cool air. And I don't do not want to record an episode. But then I'm like, I got to do this because this was on my plan. This was on my calendar for the week. So I had to fulfill what's on my calendar for the week. But I'm like, man, I don't, man, I, please. And I, can I be honest? Y'all, I was tempted to put it off. And how many of us are tempted to put stuff off? Well, I'll do it tomorrow. I'll do it next week. I'll do it next month. And before you know it, you haven't accomplished nothing. Because discipline says I'm going to do what matters even when I don't feel like even being motivated to do it. That does not mean you never rest. It does not mean that you don't, you run yourself into the ground. But it says discipline is not, you understand that discipline is not punishment. Discipline is simply learning to keep promises to yourself. If you say you're going to do something, do it. Because every time you keep a promise to yourself, something grows inside of you. You start saying, when I tell myself I'm going to do something, I know I can follow through. And that's when change your confidence. That's when your confidence change. Because a lot of people are trying to think themselves into confidence, but confidence often grows from evidence. You prove to yourself that you can show up. You prove to yourself that you can finish it. You prove to yourself you can be consistent. And here's the line that's worth remembering. Confidence grows when your action starts agreeing with your intentions. You're not going to be perfect. You're going to have some imperfect days. You're going to miss a workout or two. I'm not saying you're going to spend more than you plan. Well, that happens. Oh, yes, that happens. But the goal is not perfection. The goal is returning. Get back on track. Take the next step and keep moving. That's the whole goal. All right. Here go the fourth principle. Lasting legacy. When people hear the word legacy, they often think about what happens after they are gone. But legacy is not only about what you leave behind. Legacy is also about what you are building right now. Your habits are building something. Your choices are building something. Your conversations are building something. And the way you treat people is building something. You're building tomorrow with the decisions you make today. And that's why this conversation is bigger than getting more done. It's about becoming somebody. Every repeated action is helping shape the person you are becoming. And you do not become dependable by announcing you are dependable. It's about you constantly communicate, listen, invest, apologize, forgive, and grow. And eventually, your small actions become a part of your character. And your character starts shaping your life. So you do not only ask yourself, What do I want to accomplish? You got to ask yourself, who am I becoming while I am accomplishing it? Because reaching the goal matters, but becoming the person you, that kind of person who can sustain what you achieve matters even more. Because many people are achieving goals, but they are not becoming and reaching their full potential. Here goes another growth gem I want to give you. Your future is not waiting. It's not waiting somewhere for you to arrive. You are building it with what you repeatedly do today. Big change rarely becomes, begins with big moves, begins with small decisions with refuse to stop. So here's your growth challenge. I want to challenge you. Here's your challenge for the week. I want to call it the seven day small step challenge. Choose one area of your life where you want to grow. Just one. Maybe it may be your health, finances, career, relationships, education, business or personal development. Then I need you to identify one small action you can repeat every day for the next seven days. Maybe you want to walk for 15 minutes, read. maybe save $10 or whatever it may be. Keep it simple. But the goal is not to completely change your life in seven days. The goal of this challenge is to prove to yourself you can become consistent. Seven days, one action every day. And then at the end of the week, you ask yourself, what changed because I kept showing up? You may discover. The biggest change is not what happened around you. It is what started to happen inside of you. And many of us are looking for change to happen around us, but not understanding that most of the change that's going to take place, it is inside of us. So thank you for spending these moments with me on the Growth Gym podcast. If today's conversation helped you, you share it with someone who has a big goal but might be overlooking the power of the small beginning. You do not know. You do not have to change everything today. You do not have to have the entire plan figured out like you know what you're going to do. You just don't need, all you need to do is make the next right decision. Then make it again tomorrow and again and again the next day. Because one day you will look back and realize the life you are living was built through decisions once looked too small to matter. Remember that. Until next time, this has been your host, Chris Briggs. I hope this episode has been a help to you. Keep learning, keep moving, keep becoming, and most of all, keep growing. Because growth is a journey. and not a destination. Thank you.
