A: Hey guys. Welcome back to the podcast. I'm Amanda.
L: I'm Laura.
K: And I'm Kendra.
A: And today we are gonna talk about the importance of taking smaller steps. And this is coming up because all of us are kind of doing some health improvements. I'm trying to eat better. Kendra's trying to do more exercise. Laura is doing her own thing too, and what I've done in the past is- I do tend to have perfectionist tendencies. And I will make things just incredibly difficult for myself. I think very much in all or nothing.
K: We all do.
A: Yeah. It's like I will make a New Year's resolution. I'm gonna change this, and I'm gonna change this, and I'm gonna change this and that. And I just go from zero to 1000. But in Atomic Habits, which if you haven't read that, it's an incredible book by James Clear. One thing (that was like a knife in my heart when I was reading it lately) was you have to actually have a habit before you can begin to improve the habit.
And so there is this beautiful image. If you can just imagine, we'll have a YouTube video link where we show the actual picture that I'm staring at right now. But imagine in your head there are two ladders. They're very, very tall ladders. They both lead to the exact same place, but one has a hundred small rungs going all the way up so that you barely get on the ladder. You take the next step, the next step, the next step. Contrast that with a ladder that only has very few extremely spaced apart rungs- so spaced that it's difficult to even reach the first rung to get on the ladder. I don't know why that image really landed for me, but just visually seeing you get to the same place, but you can start small. And you'll probably actually get there faster ‘cause you can get on the ladder.
Again, you have to have the habit to begin with before you can improve it. So a lot of us make it way too hard to start a habit. And a lot of us- we're that all or nothing thinking. We don't give ourselves credit unless it's zero to 100, and we do it perfectly every day. Like, this looks like me in the past. I'm gonna change my diet completely. I'm gonna vow to workout an hour a day, organize the entire house, start meditating 30 minutes a day, and we're gonna do it all tomorrow and every day after that. Which, invariably, life happens. I have old habits, right?
And so when I would fall “off the wagon,” which, just, there is no “wagon” guys. I’d chuck the whole thing because I made it too hard. I made that first rung so impossible to get on. So we would argue that it's much better to start small, establish any sort of habit that's in the right direction. Become a person who identifies themself as a person who does that behavior. Like, “I'm a person who exercises.” That becomes your identity. It doesn't say I'm a person who exercises two hours a day and is ripped. It's just- I'm a person who exercises. Even if it's, if that's a small amount. I'm a person who eats better than the person I was before. I am a person, whatever it is, just becoming a person who identifies themselves as that, then you can build on from there.
K: Yeah, and I would even take it a step further to say, not only identifying with that habit, but also, like, connecting it to a value. So something that you value. So I know that one of the things that has definitely impacted my life when setting habits is that I value longevity in life. I value that I would be healthy for the longest amount of time as to not put a burden on my children or something like that. Like I value being able to have a brain that works, and it's sharp for a long time, right? So I connect movement with increasing circulation in my brain. Therefore, blood flow, therefore healthy brain tissue. Therefore I'm fighting back dementia and Parkinson's and Lewy Body Disease and all these things. Like I just, I value that.
And so, setting goals sometimes can feel like they're way far out there. And just like Amanda said, we make brief action steps that are smaller, that are keeping you focused. Like even day to day or week to week. And they keep that momentum going forward. So one of the things that I always fall back into is just, I'll go good, and then that momentum stops. Or life gets in the way or whatever. Even Amanda saying there is no wagon- that changed my life just now. There is no wagon. I fall off all the time, and it's painful. And I visually see myself falling off the wagon and hurting myself. It's just so painful. It's painful to my, like, ego. It’s painful to my confidence. It's painful to everything. And I'm like, see, I just fell off the wagon again. But I would say that connecting it to a value, something that is of value to you, also keeps that momentum moving forward. And then making those small action steps that are either daily, weekly, that keep you moving forward and keep that momentum going. So if we could just use a couple of examples. Right now, my thing is movement. I want to intentionally move, to where I'm working up to a habit of more days out of the week than not.
So in my mind that looks like four because there's seven days. And so if I give myself a little grace more days than not is about four. And yes, I would like to work out somewhere in the 30 to 45 minute range. Right now, that seems like a lofty goal because I cannot think of 35 or 45 extra minutes in my day. But where I have started is I put on a brief yoga video from YouTube. I found someone that I follow, so she's always posting yoga videos. And I love yoga because it really increases flexibility. It's a little bit of resistance training. It's strength training for my bones, and it's easy to do. I mean, for the most part. Like, doesn't require a lot of, like, brain power. Or I go outside and walk my driveway. I have this tremendous driveway that is- we call it the beast because it is- it's a beast to go up and down it. And so I just make a goal that I just put on my tennis shoes, go right outside and do it till I feel near-syncopal, I guess. I just powered through. Like I did four times, and then I worked up to five times. And I just try not to have those sustained v tach or non-sustained v tach. So I stop right, right before I enter that zone.
We know the studies show that even a brief amount of exercise every day can help you live longer. So that ties back to my value of longevity and being my best self for as long as possible. So doing anything is always better than doing nothing. Amanda did a great job a few months ago with her #FactFriday. We always post on socials. And one of our themes is we do #FactFriday. And her movement for #FactFriday- and, and we'll have a link to this with all of the articles where they came from, but even a 10 minute workout with just one minute of high intensity showed similar benefits to 45 minutes of jogging. And things like you can increase your metabolism in just 33 minutes per week with movement, some sort of intentional movement. Your brain works better after 10 minutes of exercise. So we know cerebral blood flow is good. We love cerebral blood flow because it nourishes our brain tissue, keeps it alive and healthy. Another thing is daily vigorous exercise for only 11 minutes now meets the recommendations.
So if you're going like a weekly time limit, that's 150 minutes weekly of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity. And then like we said before, we've talked about this before. Exercise in itself helps to keep your mind sharp, but also decreases thoughts of depression, negative thoughts, thoughts of worthlessness, and all of these things. It wards off all of this. And we also know that, especially as docs, we tend to live in that fight or flight a lot of times because we're on shift or we're doing our rounds or whatever, and we're taking care of so many things at all times. So we live in a high cortisol level state all the time. That's not too good for, like, our heart, our vessels, our adrenals, all the things. So we know that doing any kind of moderate exercise- even 15 minutes on a stationary bike lowers cortisol. So it decreases stress. I'm all about things that decrease stress. And then there's a workout from the American College of Sports Medicine that's eight minutes. If you can do that, and then maybe work up to like where you repeat it once or twice. That's it. That's it. You're done. You got it in, and you can move on.
But what I would say, and the thing that helps, like Amanda said. These tiny habits is just not only doing something. So 10 minutes, start with seven minutes. Start with, I'm gonna watch my favorite show. And during the commercials I'm gonna do, you know, crunches for one set of commercials and then pushups for the next set of commercials. And then, like, have some kind of thing there, so you get to watch your favorite show and then at commercials, but who knows about commercials these days, but just an idea.
But anyways, just doing something, but then also celebrating. We tend to have that all or nothing thinking. So when we either do it or not. And, but I think the other thing that helps to kinda reiterate that dopamine in our brain, or give us that nice little bath of dopamine, is celebrating. So we give ourselves a star. So we are in the star club, and when we are successful, we hold each other accountable. We give a star. So just knowing that I can send a star to my friends really helps me to stay accountable and keep moving forward.
L: Yep. Oh, I forgot to send you guys my star. So I got my star yesterday. I just love this, the visual of the ladder or, I actually also like, like a spiral staircase. Like I like to imagine that I'm going up this really beautiful long spiral staircase going up to my best self. And if you think about stairs, and if that first stair is like five feet tall and you're five eight like I am, it's gonna be near impossible to get up that thing. But if you just have a small step, it'll feel almost effortless to do it.
And I think Kendra mentioned the book, Tiny Habits. That's the one that I've read most recently. And it is cool because he talks about just, like, breaking things down into such teeny tiny little habits that they almost feel effortless. And that small degree change just shifts our whole trajectory. Just like on a big ship, if that rudder gets turned just a tiny bit, it will take you in a completely different direction over time. Same thing with just adopting some very small changes will allow us to change our mindset, and like they mentioned, going ahead and deciding that now I'm an exerciser. Now I eat healthy. Now I am an organized person, and I show this by doing these things. Just like doing two pushups a day makes you an exerciser.
Like throwing away 27 things. This is one of the things that the FlyLady- if you're not familiar with the Fly Lady, she is this cool sweet lady who lives in Brevard, North Carolina- who created this whole business based on helping people who find themselves in what she calls CHAOS. Which is Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome. Where, I just, she cracks me up. Anyway, just like life out, life outta control, super messy. She pulled herself out of that by starting with some tiny habits. The first one was to shine her sink every night. The whole house could have been like, in a complete disaster. But every night she was gonna get. And sometimes, she could just pull the dishes out and put 'em on the counter and then- but shine her sink. And over time she added new little things to her routine. She would make the bed. She would get dressed.
And, her big thing is, and I'm not- we don't wear shoes at my house. But she gets dressed to shoes. She wears shoes in the house and ties them up. And she puts on her makeup and does her hair every day. She swooshes and swipes, which is where she, like, cleans the toilet real quick and wipes down the counters. And anyway, she has this series of little routines that she has built over time, but it just started with that one habit of cleaning out the sink. And so you can start by cleaning out the sink and say, I am a clean person. My house is clean. And it doesn't matter how immaculate your house becomes, It's never 100% cleaned. So I think it's fair to say, sure, you've got a clean spot in your house. You're starting on that trajectory. You have turned the rudder.
And I'm reading a book right now, or listening to the Audible, Change Anything. It's an awesome book. I love it. And it's a lot along these same lines, but one of the hacks that they offer is: take a visit to yourself in the future. Think about if you continue doing things the way you are doing them now, what will your life look like in 20, 30 years? Are you gonna still be as healthy as you are? Are you going to be able to get down on the ground with your grandkids and play with them? Are you going to be able to travel like you want? Is your house gonna be condemned because you've got an infestation of cats and rats? Why is it always- like, I can't watch Hoarders anymore because like, I, like I just don't. But, but every once in a while I used to watch it just like a) get my rear in gear and b) also make myself feel like, oh, I'm not that bad, you know? But there's always just way too many cats involved on that show.
But all that to say that just like with nutrition, just like with exercise, getting organized and getting our house in order is the same thing. And we can start with just one new little habit every day. Making your bed, that's a great one if you're not a bed maker. There's a whole book about- make your bed- about how that can change your whole day. And even if you got nothing else done that day at home, you can come home to that peaceful feeling of having your bed made. You can make a new habit of not putting things in a pile, but instead putting it away, making sure that you know where everything goes and just put it away there immediately instead of putting it in a transitional place.
So the biggest thing for all of these things though, is to begin with the belief that you can change and change your identity. And if you're one who has been beating themselves up for whatever, you know. I am disorganized, or I am a slob, or I'm lazy. If you have any of these negative self-talk patterns, it's time to embrace some new ones and dig deep. Look, your best self is down inside waiting to come out. What is he or she saying? What does he or she say about who you really are? And as you really listen, you're going to hear things like you're a powerful person. You're healthy, you are kind, you're energetic. You are organized and efficient. And you use the time that you used to use trying to manage a bunch of stuff that you don't need anymore. Now you use that time to spend time with people you love, and maybe even you are able to serve in the community more. All that to say your best self is in there. Listen to them. They're trying to tell you stuff. So, and along with the organizing, if you are trying to organize stuff without getting rid of stuff first, that is going to be more draining of your energy than if you get rid of some stuff.
And FlyLady likes to get rid of 27 things. I can't remember why she said 27, but she likes to say, go throw away 27 things. Go pick up 27 things to donate. And as you do that over time, you get down to a manageable amount of stuff that you actually want. Like we don't need to keep stuff we don't want. If there's anything that we have that we're keeping outta guilt, that, like, that is not what you need in your life. Just release that. And that's Marie Kondo's main thing is, you look at the thing, you hold it. How's that making you feel? If you feel like, oh, you know, my dad gave me that before he died and I, I just feel like I have to keep it. No. No, he doesn't, he does not want you to keep that thing. If it doesn't enhance your life now and you have no real purpose for it, somebody else probably has a purpose for it. So go ahead and let that thing go.
A: I like that, you know, that 27 fling or, whatever, that 27 thing fling, I can't remember what she calls it. But even when you tell somebody, declutter your house. My brain immediately goes to, I have to declutter the entire house. And I get overwhelmed, and I don't take any steps. The fact that she says actionable steps. Put 27 things either in the donate or throwaway pile. I'm like, oh, okay, well I can do 20. You know what I mean? So maybe your thing is five. But don't get overwhelmed with decluttering your entire house. Just get on the ladder.
L: Right.
A: Do five things, three things, one thing a day.
L: I mean, The other thing I like is she says, set a timer for seven minutes. Which you don't realize how much you can get done in seven minutes. You can get quite a bit done, and then you can reset the timer if you want. But the seven minutes can be enough ‘cause that's progress.
A: Right. And maybe for some of us who are perfectionists and do all or nothing thinking all the time anyway. Maybe that's a good exercise anyway. Like I'm only going, in fact, I'm only gonna do this for one minute. You know what I mean? To, so that we can stop doing, stop telling ourselves, I don't have time for this. You have one minute, and so to just disprove that belief that, man, has hindered me in many ways.
Another, so we've talked about exercise. We've talked about your living, the environments in which you find yourself, but also another one where a small step can have huge impacts is nutrition. And one of my favorite weight loss coaches is Corinne Crabtree. She has a podcast called Losing 100 Pounds. I will warn you though, if you are not into the F word and S word and a lot of others, don't, don't check it out. But she speaks to my soul and she started her weight loss journey of losing 100 pounds and keeping it off with this simple vow that she was gonna stop eating ice cream out of the carton and put it into a bowl instead. She knew she wasn't gonna cut ice cream out of her life altogether, but she knew she could do that. She didn't have to keep eating it out of the carton. She could start putting it into the bowl. And with that positive reinforcement, she started adding more and more and more things to eventually go on to lose 100 pounds. But it's just another example of how doing something, just doing the next right step, as small as it is, can have a lasting impact in making your life better.
K: So yeah, hopefully, hopefully we've inspired you today. Hopefully we have at least maybe lit a tiny fire to make a tiny habit come to fruition in your life. Also, if you wanna claim CME for listening to this episode, scroll down to the bottom of the show notes and click the link. So until next time, you are whole, you are a gift to medicine, and the work you do matters.
