Who makes these rules anyway?
On improvement, the power of tiny changes and a beautiful quote from Marianne Williamson's.
Hello guyss! How are you doing? I am doing pretty well and I had a pretty good week too. Actually, I slept for most of it, and I feel like I had a whole month’s worth of sleep in just one week😅. Hopefully, November comes with a wave of productivity!
So, I have a couple of totally unrelated things to say(write) today. The logical thing to do would be to talk about just one of them and save the rest for days I can’t seem to come up with an idea, right? Well well, I’m not sure my brain works that way lmaoo. Plus, who says I have to write about only one thing? Why can’t I write about everything? Who makes these rules anyway?
Now that I have made it clear that I would probably confuse you today with a couple of totally unrelated things, let’s dive in!
No improvement is too little if you ask me
Earlier this year, I was working on relaunching a product (or service?) with the team lead and a couple of team members. This particular day, we (the team lead and I) sat down to discuss ways to improve the existing services we were offering. Our conversation went something like this…
Me: I think we should do XYZ, and in six months or a year, we would come together to review the progress of XYZ and also come up with another feature (or improvement) —say abc.
TL: Hmm…I agree with you. But do you think that is a good idea? I’m afraid we would run out of improvements to make if we keep this up. You know it took us a while to come up with this one in the first place, and can anything even beat this?
Me: Yes, it sure did. But I don’t think we can ever run out of things to improve.
This is a rather vague conversation, and you must be wondering what the improvement was that would require so much effort to beat. Unfortunately, I can’t remember what it was, plus that isn’t even the point here. The point is, can we really run out of things to improve?
Most of the time, we think a product is perfect until there is a new feature added and we realise how much we have been missing out on. Take an app, say Instagram, for example. Before the IG Reels feature was added, we didn’t think the app lacked anything. In fact, we thought it was perfect! (at least I did). We could post pictures and videos, watch people’s stories, go Live etc etc, what more could we ask for? And then the reels feature came up and millions of users are obsessed with the feature! As if that isn’t enough, there is a new feature that lets you practise going Live on Instagram before actually going Live. It only gets better! Another new feature I personally love is the 1.5x and 2x speed of WhatsApp voice notes. It is a lifesaver tbh.
Improvements happen every day in almost every sphere of our lives. Actually, every sphere of our lives. And it takes a lot to think out of the box, to come up with something innovative, something life-changing.
As much as it is important, as humans, to be in a state of constant improvement, we should also realize that these improvements do not always have to be huge. We think our improvements must be mind-blowing or nothing. You either go BIG or you go home. We often forget that little improvements sum up to huge milestones. It doesn’t always have to be the big things, the tiniest of improvements matter too.
Working out for only 5mins is an improvement if you do not even work out at all. Reading one page of a book is an improvement if you find it hard to read books. Waking up at 5 am twice a week is an improvement if you are looking to be an early riser. Checking up consistently on one customer is an improvement if you are looking to up your customer service game. No improvement is too little if you ask me.
As you go into the new month, I urge you to pay to take into account the little changes, as you do to the huge ones. Also, I understand that change itself can be sometimes scary, and filled with uncertainties. So I hope, and pray, you get all the courage you require, to make the changes you want.
I read Harry Potter all through the week and I’m not sure I have an excerpt to draw out from a Fantasy book, I would be leaving you with my favourite quote that has now become my laptop and phone’s wallpaper.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?
As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
-Marianne Williamson
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Bye for now,
Yosola.
P.S. This is the point where you come for my head because I said I have a couple of things to talk about today and ended up talking about just one. I honestly wish I could keep writing but my laptop and Nepa has other plans, and If I wish to publish this early enough and not 11:59 pm, this is the best option trust me. I would have changed the title and the intro so it doesn’t look like I’m not keeping to my word but nahh, I think it looks cute😎. Anyways, I hope to make up for this the next time I write to you. xx.
P.P.S. I absolutely recommend Atomic Habits by James Clear if you are looking to learn more about incorporating tiny changes to lead to huge results.
Who makes these rules anyway?
Loved this!
I first heard that quote by Marianne Williamson when I watched Akeelah and the bee.
It's thought-provoking.
Subtle improvements, those daily 5 minutes leading to years of practice are the best I my opinion. Thank you Yosola