From a tiny spark, may burst a mighty flame. Dante

The daily grind of being a modern woman is fast and furious. We are sprinting through life sweeping up the chaos in our wake. As we go hurtling from one great adventure or action to another, the media is constantly urging us to be better.

Rest more, play harder, think deeper and dream big.

We learn to be in a cycle of constant self-improvement and we make gargantuan plans that often fall by the wayside. How could they not?

Then we feel terrible because we didn’t learn the secrets of transcendental meditation, didn’t take that trip to Paris, and didn’t learn to absolutely accept every inch of our bodies and being.

And the vicious cycle starts all over again. 

But there is another way. Small steps can take us all the way to our destination. Small bites can help us to finish the plate. And small revolutions can change the world we weave.

Vague long-term goals are glorious at the moment but committing to major life shifts and new habits can seem like a mountain that’s hard to climb. But when you take the change one step at a time, you barely notice you have made it to the precipice.

Take a glimpse at these glorious minuscule changes you can use as a springboard to make those shifts you have been dreaming of…

For Spiritual Growth; Take a Five-Minute Morning Check-in 

How many mornings have you grabbed for your phone bleary-eyed to check your email? How many minutes do you wait before you give your thoughts to someone else – are the kids awake, did I finish that report, is my friend Kate OK after her disastrous date last night?

Instead, take five mindful minutes when you wake up to check in with yourself both physically and mentally. Lie still and run a scan of your body – notice any aches and pains, tap into any tightness and anxiety, and notice where your mind wants to run.

Rather than leaping into the day and taking charge for everyone else, these precious moments will help anchor you to your own being and encourage you to confront your thought patterns.

For Better Relationships; Send One Text a Day 

Keeping our relationships at the forefront is tricky in the modern world. We etch out half-baked plans to catch up with friends, we promise to call our mothers, and we ignore those personal messages piling up on social media.

We live in an age of instant communication which can add on to the pressure pile. Simply by committing to sending one text or one email a day to someone you love and care about can keep you connected in a way that doesn’t seem overwhelming. The positive vibrations of reminding someone they are in your thoughts forge tighter bonds and means that you will keep a strong network of people around you.

Even if you just drop a one-line text to tell someone you are thankful for them, its enough of an investment to keep people close.

For Cutting Down on People Pleasing; Learn to Say Later

If you are always that person who says yes when someone asks something of you or if you are prone to snap decisions you later regret – learn to say later. Simply by responding to invitations and favors with the simple line ‘let me check and get back to you’, you give yourself the gift of time to check in and consider what you really want to do.

Learning not to agree on the spot will help you not only to prioritize but also actively facilitates the ease of saying no in the future.

Opening your Mind; Read One Article from A Different Perspective  

The one act that will change society is the ability to start considering another person’s perspective. Race, gender, sexual orientation - we are in a time when tolerance, love, and understanding will help everyone to feel safer in the world.

Even if you don’t feel in a position to stand up and be counted for these major issues, you can help simply by encouraging yourself to understand how other people experience the world. Fortunately, the world wide web is brimming with think pieces, personal essays, and articles. Reading one article a day from the point of view of someone different to you can be the start of an amazing change.

For Harmonious Health; Take a Sip 

Drink more water, eat less meat, cut out sugar – these are all radical food habits that you know will serve you well but that can also be tricky to implement. Rather than declare that new sugar free diet or opt for eight glasses of water a day – learn to take it slow.

Simply by committing to having a sip of water every-time you pass through the kitchen or deciding to have meat only once or twice a week, you can build on those tiny changes in a much more manageable way.

The smallest actions can have huge consequences, and these tiny revolutions can change your mindset and over time, turn your life around.