The Power in the “One-Degree Shift”
At the end of 2018, I ran my first marathon.
26.2 miles. 4:19:58 was my time as an ex-smoker who recently escaped obesity. That’s slightly under 10-minute miles. I was proud.
People on the outside saw this as this huge 180-degree turn. But for me, it was simply a series of one-degree shifts.
People saw “cigarette smoker turned marathon runner.” I saw a bunch of small steps forward, slowly, over time.
If you ask anyone who has made significant progress in any area of life, they’ll tell you that the smallest actions lead to the greatest results.
The key is to NOT ONLY make one-degree shifts but to also recognize what those one-degree shifts are.
For example, quitting smoking:
Quitting smoking was not a one-degree shift.
Reading Allen Carr’s The Easy Way to Stop Smoking was a one-degree shift.
Joining the r/stopsmoking community on Reddit was a one-degree shift.
Downloading the Smoke Free App was a one-degree shift.
It was these small actions that led to me quitting smoking. Quitting smoking was a much larger undertaking.
The same goes true for getting my nutrition in order.
THAT was, yes, what I have referred to as a one-degree shift on numerous occasions, but as I thought more about it for this podcast, that was actually not a one-degree shift.
Giving up my 6 cans of TAB soda a day was a one-degree shift.
Giving up milk in my coffee was a one-degree shift.
Do you see where I’m going with this?
I will say it over and over and over again until everyone is sick of it: The road from A to B has NO TELEPORTATION SYSTEM, but you CAN walk quickly.
