T Minus Two Type Two Diabetes and Other Passions

Measuring Small Changes

I've written before about how others usually measure our acts of kindness towards them the acts' impact on them rather than the trouble we went to. Thus, a very small act on our part may have an outsized impact on them. Further, we can't usually guess what impact our acts will have.

I think both those things are also true of the small changes we make (or plan to make) in our lives. Right now, I've been trying to plan how I can most effectively enhance the amount of exercise I get. As I've thought, I've several times caught myself thinking something like "No, that's silly, just adding two blocks to my walk to work won't make any difference!" But that comes not from thinking about the real value of the change but about how little trouble it would be.

WOULD adding two blocks to my walk to work be of value? It's hard to tell. A twenty percent increase in what I'm doing now might not make a difference in how I feel -- but, on the other hand, it might. I recently began straightening my bed in the morning, despite my sense that it's pointless, and have been very surprised in the difference it makes in how I feel about my apartment. Adding two blocks to my trip might be the thing that allows me to make more significant changes. The only way to find out is to do it. I might find in the end that the value of the change is far greater than the small amount of effort required.

I'm going to give it a shot.