Little Actions

I’ve shared in the past about the book I’m reading. The Wealthy Spirit. 365 daily stories and affirmations for financial stress reduction. I just finished reading my story for today and thought I would share. It ties directly in to thoughts I had yesterday when cleaning up part of the garage with Matt and Mason.

Here’s the story:
Little Actions

Your life is the sum total of all the little actions you take, your daily habit pattern. Successful people are those whose daily habits add up to something great. You don’t suddenly one day write a book. You write a paragraph today. Then tomorrow, you write another one. And the next day, another. On a great day, you write a whole page, loving it. On a bad day, you stare at a whole page, hating it. But every day, your goal is to write: your discipline is to write; your support structure is to write.

Don’t say: “I wish I could write.” Or “I wish I had time to write.” You can write—just do it; you have time, the same twenty-four hours everyone has. Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison said, “I wrote at the edges of the day,” before her children awoke in the morning and after putting them to bed at night. It was this commitment to her voice and her vision, carried out through little actions every day, that brought her world-renowned success.

Little actions add up, both the actions of commission and the actions of omission. If I want to lose twenty pounds, I have to choose low fat foods and vegetables and omit hot fudge sundaes and brownies. If I want to play the piano beautifully, I have to practice scales today instead of watch television or play baseball. If I want to sell my product or service, I have to confront my fears and make a phone call to a stranger today. I must, each day, make the choice to put off the instant gratification of today in exchange for the delayed gratification that may be years in the future.

This is where habit can serve us well. It’s too hard to think through these choices anew each day. I have to make the commitment to my goals once, then perform the little actions each day because I have made them my habit to do them. It’s hard only for the first couple of days, then I will have established this pattern as a habit—a habit that will lead me, over the years, to the future success I desire. I don’t have to wrestle with myself, try to avoid it, think of other things I’d rather do. It’s what I do, it’s in my schedule, it’s in my blood, it’s a habit.

So what are your daily little actions? You are creating your future with them today.

Today’s Affirmation: “Every action I take today creates my glorious success.”
Chellie Campbell

I think about what I do, what I choose to do. I choose to sleep in the morning. Not to get up at the crack of dawn and start my day. I choose to sit with my husband at the end of a long day and watch a show or two before going to bed. Not all the time but it’s the habit. I like that time to relax with him but I’m aware that I’m choosing to do that instead of working. I wonder what would happen if I spent more of that time focussed on moving my business ahead. I have so many things inside of me wanting to come out. Books to design, books to write, paintings to create, so much. We’re here on this planet for a short time and I can see the days passing and feel the sadness if I just let it slip by.

This is a good reminder for me to think about what those important tasks are. Spending time with my children when I’m with them. Teaching them these same lessons. Creating what there is for me to create and not just letting time slip by. It makes for a full life that’s for sure but what else am I here to do??!!