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Many of us are fascinated by stories of people who came back from terrible injuries to accomplish incredible physical feats or who lost more than 100 pounds and kept the weight off. How do they do that?!

During the month of October, I’ve focused on the theme of transformation, looking at how sustainable change takes hold. People are motivated by different things, but it seems clear that a big part of lasting change is simply making a firm commitment to take that first step, however small.

The magazine Psychology Today printed an article called The 10 Rules of Change, and the first rule was to break down complex behaviors into their component parts and tackle them one at a time.

When I think about the effort and discipline required to get into a new routine, it’s easy for me to come up with excuses if the new routine is a dramatic departure from what I’m currently doing, but if I choose small changes, those excuses are harder to justify.

When I think about the effort and discipline required to get into a new routine, it’s easy for me to come up with excuses if the new routine is a dramatic departure from what I’m currently doing, but if I choose small changes, those excuses are harder to justify.

Want to improve your diet? Rather than trying to go from a burger-and-fries connoisseur to a vegan purist overnight, consider adding a vegetable to each meal for a while. Then, maybe, you can learn to cook a vegetarian dish that is tasty enough to make you forget you’re missing the meat.

Want to find a little more peace and balance? Rather than signing up for a three-month yoga retreat, try meditating for five minutes a day. Seriously, five minutes can make a difference. Five minutes may become ten, which may become twenty, but start with five.

Breaking down your big goals into steps so small you KNOW you can accomplish them will help you make progress. Progress is intoxicating.

Breaking down your big goals into steps so small you KNOW you can accomplish them will help you make progress. Progress is intoxicating.

And remember, it’s okay if you don’t achieve every goal exactly as planned; even the small ones can get away from us sometimes. The key is to stay committed. Write your big goal somewhere visible (a Post-It note on your computer monitor?) as a reminder.

What are your big goals? What one action could you take today toward achieving those goals? If one of your goals is to improve communication in your organization, let me know! And if you’d like to receive a little communication inspiration straight to your inbox, subscribe here.