Small Change

Small Change: It's the Little Things that Make a BIG Difference! - Susan & Larry Terkel
In a day when experts recommend radical innovations and big makeovers, a commitment to small changes seems trite and trivial. And yet, most authentic change occurs through small steps. The reason: "Aiming for big changes that are difficult to accomplish often resutls in no change at all. Worse, you may be left with a sense of failure and inadequacy that can be painful and unwarranted... By acquiring the habit of making small changes, you can build those moderate successes into dramatic results - because small changes will add up" (7). This is the way of life: "life unfolds one moment at a time; the path is traveled one step at a time" (11). Many of the practical small changes the author's propose are simple common sense. However, I found a few very helpful. The section on incorporating deep breathing exercises into one's daily routine is very simple, accessible, and convincing. We cannot do without oxygen - "breathing is the most important activitity in your life" (28). Oxygen is fuel to our cells. Focused breathing "is a critical component of energy, and also participates in two other essential aspects of our lives - our emotional state and our consciousness. Emotions - such as anger, sadness, laughter, fear, and relaxation - are associated with specific breathing patterns" (29). The Terkels advocate LSD (Long, Slow, Deep) breathing. Another practical small change is to apply the Golden Rule - "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" - to small things, for example: "Listen as you would have others listen to you" and "Speak as you would have otheres speak about you" (103). Though this book is often overly simplistic, it does help us remember that the tortoise beats the hare in the end.