If you’re anything like my family members, you’re sick and tired of hearing someone say how such-and-such a book changed their life.
Look — I get it. It seems improbable that just one book could do that.
Even though I’ve always loved a good read, I’ve also been skeptical of book reviews that seem fake. You know, the ones where someone claims that a book inspired them to pay off all their debt, adopt a fully raw vegan lifestyle, declutter their house from top to bottom, and move to Australia in a camper van.
I mean, it seems unlikely, you know?
But, if there’s one book that could come the closest to inspiring such a complete life makeover, it would be the book I just finished.
I’m serious.
You already know I’m skeptical. You already know I take things with a pinch of salt.
When I say ‘The Slight Edge’, by Jeff Olson, changed my life, know that it takes a lot for me to say that. I’ve been raving about it to my family for a reason.
Here’s what I loved about this book.
Simple things you do every day matter
At its core, ‘The Slight Edge’ is about the power of daily habits. What I realized is that the little, seemingly insignificant things I do every day are what change my life, whether negatively or positively.
This applies to everyone.
For example, let’s say your goal is to run a marathon. If you’re currently overweight and struggle to climb a flight of stairs without losing your breath, it’s going to be hard to run a marathon — tomorrow.
But what if you decide you’re going to make one little change to your lifestyle to get closer to your goal?
Just one.
Let’s say that instead of mindlessly watching TV, you’re going to use that time to take a brisk walk around the neighborhood.
At first, this might not seem like a significant change.
But in reality, it is. There’s enormous power in seemingly tiny changes.
As Olson says over and over in his book, “The slight edge is about doing things that are easy to do and easy not to do.”
The good choices you make today, tomorrow, and the next day compound in your favor and change your life one tiny good choice at a time.
That brisk walk around the neighborhood might not seem important, but when you do it over and over again, you’ll start to feel better.
That tiny change will, in turn, lead to other changes you might not expect. Over time, you’ll sleep better and look better and be happier overall because of it.
I’ve personally experienced how powerful this is. Change one little bad habit into a good habit, and it will have a ripple effect on your whole life.
Your life is constantly in motion
Every day, your life is moving in a particular direction.
With every decision you make, you’re moving your life closer to your dream or further away from it.
Ultimately, it all comes down to you.
Believe it or not, the actions you make, no matter how small they may seem, have a strong impact on your future.
Every day, you make countless choices that hurt you or help you, probably without even realizing it.
- You decide whether to get up when the alarm goes off or whether to sleep in.
- You decide whether to invest in your relationships or whether to spend all your time working.
- You decide whether to eat healthy, nutritious food or whether to eat junk food every day.
- You decide whether to pick up a good book or whether to pick up your phone to scroll through Instagram.
- You decide whether to apply sunscreen before going outside or whether to let the sun damage your skin.
- You decide whether to invest your money, little by little, or whether to spend it, little by little, on things you don’t need.
All of these decisions are within your control. When you become more aware of the choices you make, you’ll be able to consciously make better ones.
Anyone can use this book
One thing I love about ‘The Slight Edge’ is that anyone can benefit from it.
That means you can benefit from it.
It doesn’t matter if you’re in grad school or twenty years into your career — the principles will apply to you. I’ve encouraged people from all walks of life to read it. I know it has the power to help them all.
You can start right now
All you need is a willingness to look at your life, take responsibility for your actions, and decide to integrate positive changes into your routine — one tiny step at a time.
So here’s my challenge to you: read this book, and choose a few areas of your life that aren’t quite where you want them to be.
Maybe your relationships aren’t doing well, or maybe you want to save more money. Whatever it is, start small.
The beauty of the slight edge philosophy is that you don’t need to make a drastic change to reap the benefits. In fact, you shouldn’t try to make a drastic change all at once.
Why?
Because you won’t be able to keep up with it. That’s why so many people make huge promises to themselves on December 31st and give them up by February.
Case in point: saying you’re going to lose 50 pounds in a year, without having a plan to make that happen, will only set you up for failure.
So how do you set yourself up to succeed?
It’s simple. Make tiny adjustments, not huge ones.
If your goal is to lose 50 pounds in a year, that means you just have to lose a little over 4 pounds per month.
To do that, you just need to make tiny changes, over and over again. Maybe you could start drinking sparkling water instead of soda. Maybe you could get up a little earlier and go for a jog in the morning.
Those tiny adjustments might seem tiny at first, but over time, you’ll see how powerful they are.
Final thoughts about ‘The Slight Edge’
A lot of people would disregard the advice in ‘The Slight Edge’ for one reason:
It’s not that the philosophy seems too complicated or too difficult — it’s that it seems too easy.
It seems too easy to work out for 10 minutes a day, apply sunscreen before going outside, or read a chapter of a good book every day.
People are impatient. We want huge results immediately.
That’s why only a tiny percent of people use the power of small steps to their advantage.
If you’re skeptical, as I was, just try it. Read ‘The Slight Edge’, start making seemingly insignificant changes in the right direction, and watch your life flourish as never before.
This article first appeared on Medium.
