Incremental changes are easy if you are a bee or an ant. Social insects contribute minimally to a greater goal and so collecting a droplet of nectar or moving a single grain of sand can quickly lead to incredible results. Incremental changes are hard if you are human.

Incremental changes rarely happen because incremental changes are seldom what’s really needed. You don’t get fit by adding one workout to your week. You don’t break a bad habit by adding one day of discipline before repeating the habit. There is usually a greater change needed to actually get the incremental changes you want. You aren’t going to make any significant difference collecting a droplet of honey or moving a single grain of sand.

What can you do on another logical level to achieve the incremental change you want as a positive by-product of doing something else? Example: You want to be less distracted but email eats up too much of your time. You can’t ignore email, it needs to be addressed, but maybe don’t open email until you do one thing on your ‘to do’ list that you want to do! Now you have a daily routine of focus, rather than trying and failing to be less distracted many times over the course of the day.

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Related: Leading Change – This is the post that I got the featured image from (above). It goes along with 2 other images. Together they focus on Embracing Change, Resisting Change, and Inspiring Change.