Make A Small Change That Can Lead To Big Things

By Hayley Dean, ellaslist

It’s the start of another year. A time when we enter the classic phase of making sweeping, life changing resolutions and never sticking to them. I saw a cartoon online depicting a mother and son conversation; “What are New Year’s Eve resolutions mum?”, “To-do lists for the first week of January son”. It’s funny 'cos it’s so true.

Why as humans do we make things so hard for ourselves? Why don’t we live our best Oprah Lives? And speak our best Oprah truth? I’m no Freud or Madam president Oprah for that matter but I do tend to think it has something to do with the unrealistic expectations we place on ourselves all the time.

Now I’m not saying you should set goals, because aiming high is a powerful, wonderful, motivating thing but what I am saying is that sometimes we make too many enormous changes at one time, making it almost impossible to succeed.

I propose that this year, we concentrate on making small changes in our lives, do small things with great love that will lead to big achievements for both you and your children.

You will manage, with some surprising alchemy, to turn the most ordinary of undertakings into the most transformational memories.

Here are 3, yes, just 3 suggestions that can make a powerful difference to your life.

1. Visit a national park

Instead of always going to the same old local park, the same old set of swings or the same old public pool jammed pack with people, make the commitment to visit one of our amazing National Parks instead. Instead of signing up for another gym membership you just won’t use, sign up for a National Parks and Wildlife park pass instead!

Gift your children (and yourself) with a love of nature, the great outdoors and wide-open spaces. NSW and VIC have some of the most spectacular parks on the planet. There are over 850 in NSW alone, and most offer children friendly walking tracks. NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service run WilderQuest, a kid’s program lead by the park rangers.

Heathcote National Park is stunning. It’s just down the road, roughly 10km from the well-known Royal and has wonderful bushwalks, crystal clear swimming holes like the Kingfisher pool and surrounding rock pools picnic areas.

Minerva Pool walking track in the Dharawal National park is an absolute Sydney Secret gem. This place is a sacred site for Aboriginal Dharawal people and as such, visitors are asked to respect the cultural importance of this site. Only women and children may enter the waters of the Minerva pool, a pristine waterhole with sandstone features and a small stone island. This place is breath taking and I promise, a great deal more pleasurable than the local public pool.

 

2. Swap soft drinks for good drinks

I get it. Although you hear it constantly, and you know it’s the best thing for your body, sometimes you just don’t feel like always drinking water. The daily struggle to fit your water bottle into your handbag seems overwhelming. It’s so easy to grab a soft drink when you pop into pay for your petrol or when you’re grabbing lunch on the run. And it’s so routine to brew another coffee when your body is feeling tired.

Make the small change now and swap soft drinks for good drinks. Buy a good water bottle to keep at work and another for the car and another for your fridge. Instead of going for your third coffee or an energy drink, try an organic option like Tonic Alchemy. As its name suggests, it’s a tonic that when combined with the regular habit of self-care and maintenance, can bring about a seemingly magical process of transformation. These 100ml bottles are easy to throw into your handbag so you can enjoy the two key health ingredients of turmeric & ginger – on the go, in the car, doing the school run, on the way to work, wherever. The key is that you are making a positive change for the greater good.

 

 

3. Don’t do 'random' acts of kindness

Instead, strive to be kind all the time.

I watched a YouTube clip once of Rhianna giving a speech. In it, she tells the story of her grandmother’s kindness and constant reminder that if you have a dollar in your pocket, you have enough to share. I am not even a Rhianna fan but for some reason that line has always stayed with me. Perhaps because my own grandmother was also extremely generous in giving to others. So, this is my suggestion for making that small final change; when you hear that someone you know is sad, doing it tough or in a rough patch, don’t send them “thoughts and prayers” via a Facebook post. Make a conscious effort to actually do something; be it make a meal and leave it on their door step, send flowers to give them comfort, buy an extra bottle of milk and drop it off, make them a cup of tea every day. Drop in for a visit, let them talk and you just listen.  Tell them they look lovely, that their opinions are valid, that their ideas are helpful. Mow their lawn whilst doing yours, pass on those toys your kids no longer play with, buy an extra matchbox car when getting one for your own kids and leave it in their letterbox …the list is endless and I’m sure you can think of many other wonderful things to do.

The word is full of so much anger and hate. Sometimes you forget that your own beauty and strength lies within, from who you are and from who you can be.

 

Your small changes have the power the change a world.