I am coming to you in my OK cap today. For those unfamiliar with OK, it stands for “Oozma Kappa,” the fraternity started by the monsters from Monsters Inc. started when they went to Monsters University. (Monsters Inc. and Monsters University are Disney Pixar films and they are fantastic.) Anyway, all the other fraternity labels were already taken by other groups, so they named theirs “Oozma Kappa,” for which the acronym is “OK.” Their rowdy, spirit-filled chant is, “We’re OK! We’re OK.”

And you know what? I want to interject with a quick reminder that we will be OK. When we come together, we are “better together,” as we commonly hear right now. When we take small steps toward cultivating well-being, creating change, tending to our communities and our families, making small changes in our health, environment, or finances, those small changes are what this whole “2-Minute Tips” series is all about. Small changes can make a big difference over time, and that helps us move back toward “OK” even when the going gets tough.

Back to today’s topic. I got to thinking about all of you this weekend as I stood in front of my stark, white wall, getting ready to paint it a luxurious, cozy taupe. I realized I was overwhelmed. When I looked at the whole room and saw the clutter, the books, and all of the little tchotchkes that needed to be moved around, I almost decided not to do it today. Then, I realized I didn’t have to move everything…I didn’t have to paint all of the walls…and, even so, I could still make progress. Instead, I could choose to paint just one wall. My mantra for the day quickly became: “Instead of doing it all, you can paint just one wall!” This thought process brought me back to the notion that we sometimes think we have to do more than we need to, because we default to an all-or-nothing approach to so many things. There are so few things that are “all-or-nothing” endeavors in life (childbirth notwithstanding 😉).

So, today I want to encourage you to think about one small thing you can do to make a difference in your day, your moment, your mindset, your health, or your relationships. One small thing. You don’t have to fix everything, bridge every gap, or make monumental, sweeping changes in order to create real benefit. Because I know, when I’m finished today, with the very short project of painting one wall, I will feel happier and more accomplished. I’m going to get a little dopamine hit in my brain, and I’ll be looking at a beautiful wall that is no longer stark white. It will feel cozy and comforting when I walk in. And that will make me feel better in the moment…and more likely to paint the next wall soon.

I invite you to do the same today (or this week). Choose one small thing, just one section of a bigger thing, make one stride–just one small step toward it. I’ll be looking forward to hearing about what step you chose and the progress you made…no matter how small. Because progress is progress!

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