As I write today I am sitting in a lovely little apartment in Lisbon. I made the decision to try out digital nomadding and Lisbon is a place I’ve wanted to come for years. So here I am with my amazing friend (and Bird associate!) Elloa. We plan to work and explore and eat and enjoy that extra bit of light that is not the norm for us northern Europeans in January.
So sitting here, Elloa suggested the title for this week’s blog: Tiny changes.
It’s usual at this time of year to set huge intentions for the year ahead. I am all for visualising the future that you want. It’s important to set intentions for getting the new job you desire, for developing the organisation you lead to be stronger, more agile and more productive. I have visions for Bird supporting organisations both nationally and internationally. I want us to be the global go-to company for all not-for-profit, public sector and social enterprise organisations on wellbeing and staff resilience.
It feels exciting to have big goals. And I’ve learnt from experience that actually they do become a reality, they don’t always look exactly as you expected but they do tend to become real.
However, sometimes smaller, more manageable changes get neglected or brushed off as ‘playing too small.’ But the small changes are in fact often the starting point of the bigger changes. For me, remembering to wash up my dishes after each meal would be a tiny change I could make that would lead to a more overall sense of feeling organised and energised. I don’t think I always recognise it but mess does make me feel sluggish on a subconscious level. So the tiny change of regularly washing up could be just the change I am looking for.
Likewise reading before bed for ten minutes would be a tiny change I could make that would almost certainly lead to deeper and more peaceful sleep.
I love this quote by Courtney C Stevens: ‘If nothing changes, nothing changes.’
Making a tiny change could be the catalyst that you need to change course. It’s like the butterfly effect, if we make slight changes in our lives our trajectory changes. And when those tiny changes are considered and come with a gut feeling that they are right and useful for us, then the path we start to forge will no doubt lead us to fulfilling and enriching places.
So what tiny changes are you going to make today?
With love, Hannah
This January I have two spaces available for new clients. Email me if you would like to have a conversation about working together.
Photo by Javier Allegue Barros on Unsplash