Small Differences but Big Outcomes

Most people dismiss small improvements. Unless it results in an immediate and massive win, they dismiss the small efforts put forth.

But this leaves you vulnerable for stagnation and complacency. You don’t want to put in the effort unless you are guaranteed massive payouts.

Recently I was speaking with some friends on improving an aspect of their business and I told them that subtle changes can result in massive improvement. It doesn’t have to be the massive overhaul. It doesn’t require revolutionary change, and instead look to evolutionary change. Because the small changes add up and compound.

In the book, The Compound Effect, author Darren Hardy says, “The difference between the No. 1 ranked golfer and the No. 10 golfer is less than a stroke on average, but the difference in prize money is more than double.”

This isn’t just true in golf. Look at the world record gold medalists and then look at the silver metal winners’ times. It is crushingly small. Yet a gold medal and world record for one, and a runner up for the other.

Hardy pushes the idea that it is the small decisions we make every day that matter. Our habits and routines will define our future. Sure, making these small, subtle changes might not mean much of anything in the next 6 months. But follow up in 31 months and you will see massive gains.

So don’t discount those small decisions. Don’t get caught up in the idea that you must go big or do nothing. In reality there is a world of difference between the two.

Instead, start searching for those small improvements. Then systematize them so you do them regularly. That will turn into an automatic response which creates the habits that drive your life forward.

Those habits will accumulate. They will compound and create a brighter future. Or you can make bad decisions with those small choices. If you do, you will find that the momentum grows in reverse until you can no longer can even get back to even. You spiral down all because of a bunch of small choices that you assumed were insignificant.

It is up to you. Focus on small improvements and evolutionary change or take massive steps but risk falling backwards because those fundamentals were ignored.

You will be surprised at what can improve in your life when you take those small steps. Suddenly it becomes possible. As you continue it becomes probable. Soon it will feel it was inevitable.