I’ve previously written about how small victories can add up over time to major wins. I recently started thinking about this again, and that reminded me of this video involving small dominoes knocking down increasingly larger ones. Even though each domino is noticeably larger and heavier than the one before it, they all come down without any difficulty. The first one took almost no effort to topple, yet, according to the guy in the video, it started a chain reaction that would have eventually brought down a domino the size of the Empire State Building. It certainly works with much larger dominoes, as we can see in this video.
Likewise, if you’re not already at the place you want to be in life, you can start moving in that direction by making one small change for the better. That change may not seem like much at first, but it’ll start a chain reaction that will clear obstacles and open doors along your path. And it’ll do so at a pace that lets you adjust to your changing situations so that you’ll be prepared for each level as you approach it. This is much easier than trying to topple the biggest domino first; that’s still possible, but it requires a lot more energy at the outset and results in a much faster chain reaction, which gives you almost no time to adjust. Sometimes major changes in a short span of time are the best way to go, but I prefer to keep it simple and manageable.
This also applies to the world around you. You never know how a seemingly small gesture toward another person can affect their life, and the lives of the people they know, etc. Even something as simple as a genuine smile can be enough to turn someone’s mood around and positively impact all of their experiences for the rest of their day. Even if you can’t see the fruit of your actions, it’s still good to pay it forward when you can.
I’m going to keep this in mind for when I’m feeling frustrated or wary about the future. It helps that I’ve seen how well this has worked in my own life since I started doing it, but I still need an occasional reminder. There’s always some small thing I can do to make my situation better and help me get through a trying time. I’ve made extensive use of this so far and I plan to continue using it as I keep moving forward in life.