Little Things

I read an article about a person who impulsively bought a cute little purse that her oversized life had no use for, and suddenly she found herself unloading all the unnecessary stuff she'd been hauling around. It began with having to think about what she truly needed that day and what could fit into the tiny handbag. One day, she realized she had become more organized and productive - all stemming from that impulse purchase. She somehow had made a large positive change in her life without even knowing it. The point of the article was that it's the little shifts in our everyday habits that eventually beget large changes; changes that we ordinarily fail to achieve when we set out to achieve them in one fell swoop, like "losing weight" or "becoming happy." One little change causes another, then another, then another, until eventually something big and positive has happened and it was no effort at all!

Reflecting upon this, I discovered that I've done a couple of things like this. The first: I spent last summer keeping busy, and I didn't study at all. A week before school started again, I looked up something I couldn't remember. Once I'd brought out the ol' textbook, I read a little bit each day until classes began. I actually enjoyed looking at old material because it wasn't as confusing in posterity. And now that second year is coming to a close, I find that I've gamely, if not eagerly, studied nearly every day this year. Last year there were many times when I was unable to make myself sit down and study, but this year I haven't been fighting it. Even though there's more material and the testing schedule is harder, I strangely enjoy the process a little bit. My grades show it, too.

The second thing is my cloth bag. A couple months ago, I bought one to haul groceries in so I won't have to use those plastic bags. Unlike other similar efforts I've made before, I actually remember to bring it into the store with me now. This is probably because I'm pleased with my bag and I think it looks cute, regardless of any environmental good it does. It has an understated, tasteful logo (just the fruit/clock part, no words) from a new grocery chain called Fresh & Easy. The bag has since started conversations with checkers as they load my food into it, and I even had a woman stop me in the parking lot to ask where I got it! So I think my little change is already having a bigger impact than I set out to make. Actually, I must attribute the origins of my cloth bag change to Darron's dad. He gave me something a few months ago in a heavy-plastic Fresh 'n Easy bag, and commented that it was built to reuse. So when I saw an ad for "a new Fresh 'n Easy coming to your neighborhood," it caught my eye. I noticed the cloth bags they had for sale in the picture of the new store, and had been wanting one ever since. So this change is actually a little shift that Freeman started - see how nicely that works??

So (to take a page from Nancy's book - or blog, rather), let's hear it in the comments section: What little thing have you changed in your life recently that works for you?