Angelika Says...

I was at a store one day telling a saleswoman who was taking my measurements that I recently lost some weight. She got very excited and asked, “How did you do it?! What did you do?” She was anxiously waiting for an answer with an eager look on her face. You know, the look that says, “Please tell me all about the latest magic pill you found!”

I answered, “Well, working out, eating better, the usual stuff.” You should have seen her face. It just sank… She said, “Oh.” Yep, not exactly what she wanted to hear.

There was a time when I, too, thought that you could just take a great leap forward. Say, you wake up one day and simply decide that you will be a very different person from now on. Just like that. A complete overnight transformation, the kind that makes your friends go “Is this really you?”

No such luck for me. When I tried it, I was very disappointed. I thought that I could change my behavior, habits, thoughts, outlook on life, physical body, family relationships, financial situation - everything - with just one, simple, big leap forward. Jump above everyone. Declare a “new” me, an entirely new life. Boy, was I hit with a dose of reality.

It may work for some people. Heck, some of us are going to continue to search for that magic pill or that magic bullet. Or try a big leap forward. For the rest of us, it’s one small step at a time - 5% improvements - that will slowly but surely lead us to our greater selves.