Adaugo Nwankpa: How Small Things Compound Into Bigger Things

Many times in life, we are pushing for the next big thing—the next promotion, the job, the car, the house, and the list goes on and on. We also carry this ‘big thing’ syndrome into our daily lives and into our personal and professional development. Our goals for the year are filled with big changes and major moments, but if we could learn anything from life and nature, it is that big things are made up of very small things.

Think of the sand and how tiny each particle is, think of how the little drops of water from the rain could turn into a flood that can pull down a tree or a house. If you’re reading this as a medical doctor, engineer, or anything else, you can be very certain that even your academic journey started with only two things: ABC and 123. That is really the engineering technology of life; it starts small, then it compounds.

In the 17th century, Abigail Fletcher wrote; 

“Little drops of water,

Little grains of sand,

Make the mighty ocean

And the pleasant land.”

Taking the mindset of small things into your personal and professional development journey can help you build new skills, better habits and live a more balanced life at a sustainable pace. It has also helped reduce, if not eliminate, burnout in the growth process. Here are some ways you can get started

Start Very Small

Finding a granular level for growing in any area is the first step to take. 

Let’s say you want to read more this year and you already have a tight schedule, choosing to read a full book every weekend could be very exhausting for you. However, if you choose to read for only five minutes every day, that is easier, because no matter how busy you are, you have 5 minutes to spare—it could even be when you are using the loo. You can also flip the process and choose to read only one page every day; the goal is to find something simple that works for you.

By opting for a very small level like the ones described, you can build momentum and eventually exceed the benchmark you set for yourself. 

Choose a Pace

In the very fast-paced world we now live in, we are almost always in a hurry, and hence, we are more burnt out than ever. But life also teaches us that pace is important, which is why the seasons have a rhythm. In your personal and professional development journey, adopt a pace that fits into your current reality, not your ideal one. That pace could mean reading daily, on weekends, fortnightly or monthly.

Pace helps you build a rhythm and helps your mind get into a zone at a specific time of the day/week/month.

Build Habits and Systems

As humans, we are creatures of habit. Through repetition, our brains become hard-wired to do things in a particular way and many times, at a particular time. Life also teaches us that systems make the world go round, so we expect harmattan at a specific time of the year, and if it does not come, we are worried and disappointed.

Building a system for personal development is simply about structuring a time, place and a set of activities that, when repeated often guarantees a desired result. Sticking with the earlier examples, a simple system for a young professional living in Nigeria or anywhere else could be:

• Reading an ebook for 5 minutes every evening while commuting to/from work
• Reading for 15 minutes on weekends upon waking up and immediately after church service.

This simple system captures the activity, duration, location and timing. 

Systems can seem boring, but they are reliable, and if you build one that works for you, you save yourself the headache of always figuring out what to do and when to do it.

***

Featured Image by Olly for Pexels