#50DaysOfShades - Day 14 of 50 – Forgetting what it was like before. -

I wasn't really sure if I was going to do any writing today, I knew that the footpath along the river had been closed so went along to get a picture of the closure sign and maybe write something about boundaries, but it had reopened (which I had guessed it would have). So a quick photo in my tatty hat (hopefully getting my other one back this evening).

But then saw a group of huge tree trunks and a pile of wood chips, which probably explains why the footpath was closed.

So back to the trees.

We can all see what they, the space, looks like now and I only walked past the other day. I don’t remember seeing anything that would suggest the dramatic change was about to happen. Having said that I can’t even remember what it used to look like. I can’t remember if the other side had already been cleared, or if this bit was slightly more open.

This got me thinking about how we acknowledge change. How sometimes we don’t even notice it (even when we are working hard for it), the little incremental nudges in a new direction that seem insignificant or ineffective at the time, until we are so far down the line that we cant remember a time before now.

This can be both good, taking us towards something we want, or bad, the little habits/patterns/circumstances that take us away from who we are/what we want. And one day it’s “how did I get here” but you can’t put your finger on the one action, the big leap that made it happen. Or maybe you can, but you never moved past it, you stagnated not consistently taking the little steps (because you could not see any change as you were making them) to get back to where you wanted to be.

… There is a story in The Slight Edge that refers to how the water hyacinth grows, as an example of this kind of compound interest (tomorrows interest applied to today’s stake + today’s interest) doubling every day. And another story from somewhere about two siblings being offered a million pounds or a penny that doubled every day (£5,368,709.12 on day 30 when you do the sums).

These stories are always huge and dramatic, and almost unobtainable, there is no such thing as a doubling penny. (And if someone offers you that as in interest rate it’s likely to be a pyramid scheme)

So just look back at the trees.

They started as a seed that fell or were planted and grew over I don’t know 20, 30, 50 years (I’ve been walking along that bit of river on and off for at least 20 years) and covered the riverbank. And it’s not until now that I notice how much of an impact they have had/space they have taken up.

So the questions for today:

If you look back, 6 months, a year, 3 years. Can you see a significant change? (good or bad)
Is that what you hoped for?
Can you identify something small you can do every day, that will create the opportunities for more of what you want?

#businesscoach #businesscoaching #littlesteps #noticethechange