32 Days

I made a decision 32-days ago. A small one, but I made it hoping it would be the first domino.

While visiting my sister, Lindsey, in NOLA for the holidays, I naturally finished the book I was reading. Her library (stack of books on her desk) is still in its infancy. She had three genera’s- crime novels (sure to keep me up at night), college textbooks never re-sold, or self-help/ empowerment. I selected the latter, and to my surprise, I couldn’t put it down – I considered stealing her copy, even though I finished reading it. 

I could go on about my takeaways from Gary Keller’s The One Thing but, I am only going to tell you about one, a small one. A two-inch domino, to be exact.

Keller explains a domino can knock down another domino twice its size. A two-inch domino can take down a 4 inch. A 4 inch can take down an 8 inch. Imagine a domino the same magnitude of Freedom Tower – or, as Gary points out, one the same size as the distance between the Earth and Moon. We are talking about sizeable dominos!

We can keep imagining dominos as big as the universe. No matter how big we imagine the sequence – as long as each domino increases by 50% -they will all collapse following the flick of the first, two-inch piece. 

What impact a little domino can have. More importantly, the concept of starting small is universal. Small changes, small habits can have huge implications. I decided to begin testing the theory. Understanding the bigger goal is still at a distance. 

My experiment began with two small actions that would play small roles l in my bigger goal. When habitually performed, actions become routine. Establish enough routines, and eventually, you reach your goal. Picture the dominos increasing gradually in size. According to Keller, it takes 66 days to create a new habit, which means my actions needed to be controllable. Ones I could perform anywhere.

I committed to doing 66 sit-ups and to writing – something – anything – for 66 uninterrupted days. I would not skip a domino.

The sit-ups seemed easy enough, the writing I knew would be more challenging. I decided to spam my friend Pat each night with evidence of my completed tasks. After all – we are not alone in life, and we seem to be more committed to actions when others are counting on us to succeed. I am beyond thankful I choose to involve him (and for his support!).

It made it easier to get back up on the nights when I realized I forgot my setups after snuggling into bed. It was easier to silence the voice in my head saying to leave it, get back on the horse tomorrow. To which the good angel on my shoulder would shout: “Think about the Dominos! You can’t lie to Pat!” – up I would get.

On day 20, I realized when I listen to the “positive voice” the “bad voice” became harder to hear. The two share the same power source. When I give the Positive one power, it takes away from the Negative. One day, the Negative voice was weak enough for me to do something I never thought I would be able to do. I signed up for a half marathon. – Seriously – who the hell am I?

I’ll tell you who I am. I am proud to be taking a few minutes each day to do two things important to me. Proud I challenged myself. Proud I am rising to it.

I am amazed by the difference I already see across my life. Seeing these improvements makes it all the more exciting to consider the influence my next steps will have. To see further routine changes bring me closer to actualizing my goals. 

We all have somewhere we want to go, and it seems overwhelming when we think about the end goal. Step back and think about the one almost insignificant thing you can do remotely related to your objective. This small action is your first domino. Once you set it in motion, the rest will begin to follow.

I am challenging you to make a small commitment to yourself for the next 66 days. If you need someone to keep you accountable – reach out to me!