The little things add up.

You’re impatient. Your mind is running a thousand miles an hour, coming up with all sorts of fantastic new ideas. So how come your life is pretty much the same as it was last year?

Sure, you write your exciting new ideas down, just like everyone says you should. Maybe make a note to check something out or do some research. From time to time, you may even dive right in and toil for hours or days in a frenzy of enthusiasm.

But nothing sticks.

Whether it’s tomorrow or six weeks from now, the ideas just sort of … fizzle.

Why?

Where did the fizzle go?

It’s possible you’re ‘pulling a Hamlet’ – overthinking and ultimately talking yourself out of your new endeavour.

Or maybe fear presses its cold hands around your neck and convinces you the safe path is the wisest choice.

And then, of course, there is demotivation – that period after the initial honeymoon glow that whispers in your ear that, even after sweating away for weeks, success has and will continue to elude you.

So, you go back to your ‘safe zone’ and life carries on pretty as before, except with an added side order of regret.

Bad and good advice.

For all the self-help gurus and books out there which try to convince you that goal-setting journalling, determination, and sheer bloody hard work are the only way to achieve success, sometimes these are most definitely not the answers.

Now, if you’re intent on being an expert or a virtuoso, the following thoughts may not apply – not at first, anyway.

You don’t get to perform Rachmaninov on the world stage if you dabble on the piano. And I haven’t heard of too many 100 metre sprint world champions who just enjoy the occasional jog in the park.

Small goals for the win.

But if you just want to learn a little Japanese before your once-in-a-lifetime adventure next year, play a few songs on the guitar for an upcoming camping trip, or just want to lose a little of that belly flab before summer, maybe the following might help.

Just do a little bit. Do that bit regularly. Don’t expect dramatic changes. Go easy.

That’s it.

Which language do you want to learn?

Learn one Japanese word per day. Study one easy song per week. Do ten sit ups every morning.

The results won’t be newsworthy, but they will add up.

At the end of the month, you have 30 Japanese words, four simple songs, and you’ll have done 300 sit ups – you will notice the difference.

So will your belly.

Your only commitment is to do that thing for a short period on a regular basis. Ten minutes a day, three times a week, for example. And go easy on yourself.

As you achieve more and the results start to stack up, you’ll automatically feel more inspired. We often love the things we are good at and hate the things that cause us trouble. It doesn’t mean you have to do more, though you probably will.

The compound effect.

Those little, almost unnoticeable, improvements have a compounding effect.

If you’ve never heard of the compound effect, it is the one piece of magic that all the investing guys talk about. Investing a little money, early and regularly, and reinvesting the dividends looks slow and pitiful at first. It’s certainly not exciting or sexy. But as time passes and interest rates take effect, the graph starts to look like a classic hockey stick.

Up, up and away.

Exponential growth – not because of a huge initial outlay, but because of long-term, regular investments. There are many stories of blue-collar workers in low-paid jobs who followed this long-term formula and retired wealthy.

Compounding your own habits, good and bad, has an exponential effect in the long term. The sense of joy and achievement that comes from doing something that you had zero ability in last year is hard to describe, and it's much bigger than you might think.

We don't need to be experts at everything. Sometimes, the fun things are just as good.

So. Learn one Japanese word a day, and next autumn you might just find yourself sharing a smile and a quick conversation with a Tokyo shopkeeper.

And probably surprising the hell out of both you and your friends.

Images.

Hamlet and mother - Creative commons Wikipedia

Language books - Oli Lynch on Pixabay

Investment chart - Tumisu on Pixabay