Small Actions, Big Results - How small, consistent actions can create a huge change

This applies to not just your freelance and small business, but also to so many parts of your personal life. 

There have been so many instances where I was impatient and wished for change to happen quickly, but it didn’t. There were also instances where professional help turned out to be worse than no help at all. So I had to find another way to make it work. I also had to learn to be mindful and do my research carefully to find the right professionals to help me too.

Here's a personal example: 

I have struggled with my skin since 2010/11. There was one day where my skin just got more and more acne. I couldn’t figure out the cause of it.

I first went for facial treatments, but I ended up not going back there as well because it eventually became clear that they were not interested in treating my skin, but rather more interested in pushing more and more expensive packages.

In fact, because they were so rough with my skin, I ended up with a lot of acne scars instead as the facial therapist was over zealous in popping all my acne.

So it became worse. Now I had lots of scars and still my acne didn't clear up.

Then I went to a dermatologist and he didn’t believe that my bad acne and scars were not teen acne. He even went as far to say what I was telling him wasn't true and I had to tell him the truth, otherwise he couldn’t help me.

I never went back to another dermatologist after that until 10 years later when I had an eczema problem for a period of time.

My skin didn’t get better until I decided to take responsibility for the whole situation.

There were many times where I was discouraged and felt like I’ll have bad skin for the rest of my life. That fear was very real. And there were many times where I felt very hopeless and like nothing was really working.

The mindset shift that prompted me to start taking a different set of action and a different perspective was really the determination to make a change. There’s no practical way for me to explain it other than the feeling and a very strong desire to make it happen.

I really DID NOT WANT to have bad skin for the rest of my life.

I did my research and learnt that though you can get an acne breakout overnight, you can’t heal it overnight (it took me 6 years). The same way you can sprain your ankle in seconds, but it would take months for it to fully recover.

This led me to take small consistent action instead of hoping for a magic instant solution.

Small, consistent actions can create a huge change and why it’s not too late to change (time IS on our side!)

I started by researching what would help me in my journey. I read blogs and learn from others who have been through similar journeys.

Then I figured out what I needed to do consistently.

For example, I first changed out my skincare products one by one, to natural products that were gentler on my skin, then I slowly reduced sugar and dairy in my diet.

I also explored different options such as changing my pillowcase often, not wearing makeup often (this was tough because I wanted to cover up my acne), eating less processed food, and basically trying anything that would give my skin a higher chance at recovery.

The process can be messy and frustrating

• Even with professional opinion, I didn’t follow it strictly, especially when I personally didn’t agree with it.
• I did my own research and only followed what I was comfortable with.
• I followed my gut feeling and didn’t allow professional opinions to sway my decisions. (Please be aware that professional opinion does matter especially when it comes to your health, however if you don’t feel confident with that particular professional do seek a second, third, forth opinion and do your own research. Ultimately, the responsibility is ours - it’s our own lives afterall, so please make sure you are clear on your decisions and actions.)
• Many times, some things don’t work or take a long time to see results.
• It can be frustrating especially when the process seems to take longer than you’d like it

As I mentioned earlier, I sought professional opinion like going for facial treatments and a dermatologist, but I did not have a good experience with them as it only felt like they were interested in selling me packages and pushing their opinions on me, rather than healing my skin.

Eventually, I did not renew my facial package, because my skin wasn’t making any improvements. And I did not see another skin doctor as I lost confidence in them.

It was only after I decided to take responsibility and figure it out on my own, I found a reliable and genuine facial treatment professional. I also made changes to my diet and skin care products. Only then did it help my skin improve tremendously.

How to adopt a strong mindset when it comes to making a change

• There were some things that I needed to “give up” when it came to healing my acne, such as sugar and dairy. Instead of thinking I need to “sacrifice” these things, I minimised it. And I also knew that I could go back to introducing it back into my diet later on.

• The positive side effects of reducing sugar and dairy was that my acne cleared, I felt less tired and I lost weight. I count all of them as wins. All your wins matter and they all count! This helps you focus on what’s happening for you vs what’s NOT happening.

• Instead of thinking that you have to have a positive mindset all the time, think about what you can do to support yourself when things get tough. Because just thinking about staying positive isn’t the strongest foundation to build your mindset on. When things get tough, how can you make things easier for yourself, how can you do activities that you enjoy instead and how can you create a safe space or safe practices you can turn to?

Why time is on our side, even though we may feel that we don’t have enough time

• It takes time for change to happen. Just like if you got surgery, it takes time (weeks and months or even years) for your body to heal.

• Instead of focusing on the deadline of the outcome, for example, this HAS to change by X date. I focused on what I could do in the moment to make it just a bit better.

• Or you might feel that, gosh, by the time change happens, I’ll be old or it’ll be too late.

For example, if you broke your leg and you’re unable to walk, are you going to think that by the time you can walk, it’ll be too late and you’ll be too old to walk anymore? When you look at it this way, it actually does sound ridiculous, doesn’t it? You’ll actually simply focus on getting better so you can walk again, right?

How to stay on course and not give up

One thing that was really pivotal for me to realise was that I really have to want to make the change in order for me to move my butt to take action.

Of course, sometimes the journey is lonely. Perhaps you won’t get support or people will tell you to just stay status quo. They might even ask, “Why change? Things are fine the way they are. Why do you want to risk making a change?”.

Or some people might be like, “You’re doing so much, yet there’s still no difference. Are you sure you’re doing it right?”. Even our own brains may ask us the same questions.

Here are some ways I’ve learnt to help me stay the course and not give up:

1. Get support from people around you

Let the people around you know that you are gonna make a change. Because there ARE people out there who are more than happy to support you. Find these people.

And if there isn’t anyone in your current circle, find a circle where there are. This can look like joining a workout class or an interest group where everyone is there with similar goals.

External support is so, so impactful when it comes to making a change.

2. Break down your process into small, consistent actions

When in doubt, remember the phrase “Small Actions, Big Results”!

Biting off more than you can chew, never leads to anything good.

However, small consistent actions can lead to big results. Because small, consistent actions can help you build a habit and they compound.

I started creating a habit of walking. Even though I’m not super regular with walking 3 km a day, walking everywhere has become a habit for me.

Even when I’m not out to exercise specifically, I subconsciously make the effort to walk more. And this can look like walking a longer route or climbing stairs or walking to my next destination instead of taking a bus.

So take small bites, savour it and enjoy the journey.

3. Documenting your experience and journey

If you noticed, many people actually go on social media to document and share their journey and experiences.

Perhaps it’s an outlet or it’s a way for them to remember what happened or track their progress. Or perhaps it’s about finding like-minded people to share their journey with. Or it could be all of the above.

Or it could also mean writing in a private blog if you’re not someone who wants to be on the Internet.

Whatever that looks like for you, it really helps to document your experience and journey to see how far you’ve come.

I personally share my experiences with people I know and journal about it. I don’t really put it on the Internet.

So there are many ways where you can document and share your experiences.

The results are worth it!

The journey to healing my acne:

21 - Had bad acne suddenly

26/27 - Acne mostly cleared like 95%

28 - 30-ish - Occasionally acne but generally skin is clear

Now - Still working to clear my acne scars

How to start if there’s a situation or circumstance you want to change - the strategy of small actions, big results

1. Think about what it is that you want to change and be specific about it. For example, I simply wanted to clear up my acne. This was the first step of the whole process. I only thought about reducing acne scars later on. My first priority was to heal and clear my acne.

2. What can you do daily or weekly to work towards that change? For example, one of the things I did that helped me reduce my acne was to make a change was to reduce my sugar intake daily. Once that became a habit, I added on another change, which was reducing dairy daily. And then I would continue to add on more habits such as drinking more water, changing out my skincare products one-by-one.

3. Do your own research on what you can do to create results for yourself. Stay open to what’s possible. My personal advice, don’t blindly follow what a professional tells you, especially if their advice doesn’t feel right.

4. Create a schedule but also be flexible, because life happens!

5. Finally, track your results.

With my skin, I took photos of my skin so I could track my progress:

Even though it was difficult and I also went through many periods of feeling frustrated and hopeless, I didn’t give up and eventually after 6 years, my skin finally cleared up!

Then what was left was a lot of acne scars which I’m still in the process of clearing up and healing.

If you really want to make a change, you absolutely CAN do it. It's not that difficult to start. If you want it, you should start now. Nothing is going to wait for you to change. 

If you don't start now, then when? If you don't start now, nothing will ever change.

If you start now, you'll literally see the change happen in the near future. It's something that I can guarantee you will not regret.

But if you don't start, then you might regret it. At the end of the day, it's up to you. Do u want to do this or not?

You have to decide for yourself.

Remember: Small consistent actions, big results 

By starting today, you can start compounding the effects of your efforts, instead of building in the wrong direction or staying status quo. Because this will take time, so start now.

Imagine, in one year, where would you be? Everything can look so different if you start now.

If you feel that you’d like the support of a coach to guide you through the process of change and more importantly, holding you accountable and through the ups and downs of the entire journey, let’s discuss how this can look like for you.

We’ll discuss how we can help you feel grounded in this process, the vision of the change you want to create (e.g. how the impact of this change may even look like for you) and how to create a sustainable and fun way to do so that works for you.

Book a discovery call for us to unpack this together (and how 1:1 coaching can support you with all the above).