Hey, guys, and welcome back to another episode of your Brain's Coach podcast. My name is Angela Sharina, I'm your host, I'm your Brain's Coach and it is my job here to bring to you all the best recent cutting edge, most useful, important and sometimes entertaining brain-body tools so you could take better control of your thoughts, of your emotions and, most importantly, of your actions. So you could create and shape and carve the exact life experience you would absolutely love living. Today, guys, as you probably guessed from the title of the podcast, is all about micro changes. From the title of the podcast is all about micro changes and thinking in many colors of rainbow, not just black and white.
Speaker 1I hear from so many folks I get to work with, especially at the beginning of our coaching, which usually changes a lot at the end of it. So I hear a lot about oh, you know, I'm just a black or white personality. It's like all or nothing. I either go all in on exercise and usually endure a lot of injuries, getting sick and falling off the wagon and then getting back on it, kind of stuff, or so I do a lot of exercise or nothing at all, and I must admit I used to be exactly like that and I used to think like that's just how my brain is wired, it's just unchangeable trait of my character. That's just, you know, my design. And I used to not go too far in life because I would push myself too hard and then burn. You know, crash and burn and then get back on with a lot of enthusiasm that all these audacious goals and go really hard for a week, for two weeks, for a month, for two months, for a week, for two weeks, for a month, for two months, and then emotionally I would just burn out, not always physically, because I do dedicate quite some time to my recovery and all the health routines that I know of, but I would go through these cycles all the freaking time and with my nutrition and with my fitness, and also because of that I never could really get into the exact shape physical shape and fitness shape that I wanted to be in and also my business. It would go up and go down, go up and go down, and go up and go down and if you sum it up over the course of the year or a couple of years, it would go nowhere and I was not growing, and not because I wasn't trying, but I wasn't trying consistent enough and I didn't get the result, or I didn't get the benefit of compound interest that you would get from small things that you put in that you invest in continuously. And that is true in absolutely every area of our life. Guys, if we put in small investments of our time, of our energy, of our attention, of our focus in one area and we do it consistently, it's like when people don't really have special jobs but they start saving and investing a little bit, but they do it continuously till the rest of their life or for the next two, three, four decades, they end up being millionaires not really doing anything special. Can you imagine? And then, while a lot of people trying to figure out that hack, that super idea to make them super rich people, did you know that you could just as easily get there? That's what I'm learning just by doing small savings, investment, but continuously Interest return on investment. It compounds when you do it continuously. A recent conversation with a client Well, ever had this week where life just threw everything at you all at the same time.
Speaker 1Like my CEO, my CTO went away, I had to do all this work by myself and then my wife had to go away to take care of parents and then I had my kid and the whole household and myself to take care of. It was tough, angela. I didn't do any exercise, as we talked about. And then I listened to that because I heard this story so many times and I heard it from myself so many times, because that's why it's so familiar. I'm like I know how it is. I know exactly how it is and how it feels when life throws everything at you and all at the same time. And because I knew that, I also knew what can get the person out of this pattern of going up and down, up and down and being frustrating with not seeing results, even though it feels like you're investing so much effort. So how do you get out of this cycle, this cycle, most importantly, this mindset and this thinking? So I asked my client do you think you could have fit in five minutes of exercise if you decided to do that in advance, like while watching your son, maybe doing it together, maybe while you were watching some TV? I'm sure there were those moments. He's like no, yeah, probably. How about 10 minutes, I guess, thinking on a continuum Guys, thinking in incremental changes, kaizen, you know, there is this beautiful Japanese philosophy of small steps done consistently which compound to industry-changing results and life-changing results. As a coach, I learned how to apply this strategy in my own life.
Speaker 1Thinking on a continuum that's what we say in coaching when we talk about thinking in all the shades of gray or all the colors of rainbow, not just black and white, and it's a skill you can train. And also, if you are into personal growth, personal development, please do realize that thinking in all or nothing terms actually keeps you stuck in many areas, not in all of your areas. If you're successful in business, you probably actually don't really think all that black and white, but instead you are ready and you are willing, without thinking, putting in small amounts of work, but every day Thinking on a continuum. If you get consistent success, consistent growth in some area of your life, that's probably because you are thinking on a continuum there. And if you're stuck in that loop of up and down, up and down, up and down in other areas your relationships perhaps, or your health perhaps that's what all or nothing thinking does to you keeps you in that endless loop of up and down, up and down, up and down, not really trending anywhere over the course of years. Yes, coaches, we learn this key ingredient of growth mindset, recognizing that there are a lot more options and colors, not just black and white. There are all these colors of rainbow.
Speaker 1It's not just hard workout every day or nothing. It's all shades of gray in between. Do you know, for example, that eating healthier might just mean eating one more serving of veggies and one less serving of pasta for dinner? Or sleeping better can mean adding just 15 minutes of more sleep and maybe five minutes of a private routine when you just simply take a shower and turn off your devices. It doesn't have to be 30, 45, 60 minutes of journaling and meditation and then, I don't know, smelling the roses and all of it at the same time and trying to go from 5.5 hours to 8 hours of sleep right away. It doesn't have to be like that. There is also adding a 10-minute walk to your daily commute, getting off the train one stop earlier, instead of trying to get from 2,000 to 10,000 in one big chunk. Growth happens in increments and sometimes it happens in bursts and often it's a mix of both.
Speaker 1Another recent conversation I want to work on my expertise, my professional expertise, angela but I'm already so overwhelmed with everything. There is this client project and it's about to end soon. So after that, I think I'll have time to dedicate two hours a day to my studying. And I ask, well, don't you think that that might continue? That the better, the more you work actually, the more is going to be on your plate and the less extra time you have to dedicate two hours a day studying. And do you think you could take 15 minutes from your work time and dedicate to professional learning? A thought challenge, I suppose. Did you know, guys, that I finish most of my certifications, my professional learning, in 20 minutes, but daily learning schedule 20 minutes a day, it's an hour every three days, it's two hours every six days and every what is it every two months. If we get two hours a week, it's 16 hours of learning with just 20 minutes a day. Do you think you could take 15 minutes from your work to dedicate to professional learning? And did you also know that I took those 20 minutes from my Netflix time?
Speaker 1That didn't end up too much of satisfaction or joy or anything as I analyzed my patterns, did you also know that if you lose 100 grams of body fat a week, then in a month you're. In a month it's going to turn in 400 grams. In six months it's going to be 2.5 kgs and in a year it will be 5 kgs. Now it might not sound like a lot, but all you'll have to do is start drinking black coffee instead of cappuccinos. And how long have you been trying to lose those 5-10 kgs? And going up and down, up and down, up and down, some crazy diet and eating everything, some keto, and then eating everything, all the carbs and not the fruit kind of carbs. The compound effect of tiny or micro steps and changes the compound effect is just astounding. Changes the compound effect is just astounding.
Speaker 1Bill Gates famously said we overestimate what we can do in a year and underestimate what we can do in a decade. I would take it even further you overestimate what you can do with those draconian efforts over months and underestimate what you can do with those micro changes done consistently over a month, two months, half a year, a year and a decade. It's like becoming a millionaire while having regular jobs and saving a little bit every month. So maybe the reason, guys, you're not seeing the progress you want is because you're trying to get there all at once. It's like that impatience and guys, I am a miss impatience. I used to have it my entire life when I needed it all and I did it, and I needed it now and guess what? I got nothing because of this impatience. And now that I'm very patient with myself and just investing my effort and energy into just a few things, but doing it consistently, not expecting much of a result in a day or a week, but knowing that it will come in years, in months and a decade, now I'm starting to get somewhere, somewhere.
Speaker 1So my question to you is what's one micro change you can make today for a decade? What's one micro change you can make today for a decade? Even the smallest shift can create a ripple effect toward achieving your biggest unbelievable dreams, living your biggest unbelievable dreams. And that's the question I want to leave you for today. What's one micro change you can make today for a decade? And it will compound, and that's the beauty of it and that's the guarantee of success. You know, life is unpredictable and it changes really fast. But if you look back over trends, look back over what's happening in decades, it's kind of very consistent and very predictable and, surprisingly, very reassuring If you look at the stories, at the successes of self-made people. All they had to do is say you know, I trust the journey. I know that if I am consistent with those small investments every single day, every single week, I know it's going to bring me to something amazing. So the question that I'm going to leave you with today is what's one micro change you can make today, today, for a decade, towards your boldest, wildest, most unbelievable dreams, out and over?
Speaker 1Guys, think about that, write it down, Put it in your plan, on your schedule and get it done from now on for a decade. Scary, but also, you'll find, surprisingly reassuring. And don't forget, guys. If you found value in this podcast, please help others to find this value as well. Share it in your pod of growth mindset, culture. Share it with your friends, share it with your co-workers, with your teammates, with your subordinates, with your business partners. Let's create a world where everyone thinks on a continuum instead of all or nothing. Let's all leave this up and down cycle behind and start grow continuously, out and over. Share, because you care, and talk to you very soon.