Tyler and I were sitting outside a cafe, sharing a cheese pizza and scoops of coffee ice cream. He stirred his ice cream absentmindedly and finally sighed. “Bob,” he said, “I’ve not been feeling well lately. Nothing too dramatic but enough to scare me. I went to the doctor and he was clear—I need to change my habits. Less late nights, better food, more movement, more rest. Basically, a healthier lifestyle.”
He looked down at the table. “I know he’s right but I feel stuck. My routines, my stress—they’ve become second nature. How do you even begin to change when your habits are your comfort zone?”
“Tyler,” I said, “we often think transformation has to be this grand, sweeping overhaul. That’s not how it works. Change is less about doing everything at once and more about doing one small thing differently—and then repeating it until it becomes part of who you are.”
He raised an eyebrow. “So you’re saying start small?”
“Exactly,” I said. “Start with one shift. Maybe it’s swapping soda for water today. Maybe it’s a 15-minute walk after dinner. Maybe it’s shutting down the laptop 30 minutes earlier at night. Each little choice builds momentum and momentum, over time, becomes transformation.”
He leaned back, thinking. “That feels more doable. I guess I’ve been trying to think about changing everything at once. That just feels overwhelming.”
I smiled. “Because it is. Life isn’t asking you to change everything today. It’s asking you to choose differently in the next moment and then again tomorrow. Those small wins add up.”
Tyler let out a breath, lighter this time. “I needed to hear that. Yesterday was my anniversary and my wife told me the same thing—that she’d rather have me around, healthy, for the long run than perfect for one day. Maybe it’s time I listen.”
“Maybe it is,” I said, raising my coffee ice cream in a little toast. “To taking small steps and to showing up for the people who love us.”
He clinked his spoon against mine and smiled. “Thank you, Bob. I think I can actually do this.”
To you, dear reader—if you’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to change, here’s the truth: the perfect moment is the next choice you make. You don’t need to transform overnight. You just need to begin. Pick one habit. Stick with it. Let it ripple into the rest of your life.
Big shifts don’t happen all at once. They happen in small, ordinary moments—one decision at a time.